Struggles of Life
by SpringThunder
Summary: AU - Kaoru/Kenshin, Aoshi/Misao with S/M - The life of Kaoru Kamiya and her friends will completely change with the entrance of two new transfer students to her school.
1. The Past Retold

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Disclaimer: I regret to inform all of you that I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or its characters, although I do own any created characters that my imagination comes up with.

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Struggles of Life

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Chapter 1 – A Past Retold

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Author's Notes: This chapter is told in Misao's point of view.

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My name is Misao Makimachi-Himura. No, I'm not married. Just adopted. Anyway, how are you all doing? I'm just peachy. Anyway, let me give you a brief introduction of my life.

First of, yes, I'll admit it without crying – I was an orphan even before I was born. Apparently, I overheard the nuns saying how it was a pity that my parents decided to get rid of me even before I came out. Yes, at first, I was sad about it. Hell, when I was old enough to understand what it all meant, I cried………always. If you had seen me then, it would have been a pitiful wretch. I wasted ten years of my life at an orphanage.

You may think that because they are nuns, they would keep their dignity and treat the orphans well. But life is not always a fairytale – its reality. We barely got any food, which were two meals a day. One at midday and one at dinnertime. For clothes, we were lucky enough to wear shoes, or some sort of foot coverings. And if one of us kids got sick, ninety-five percent of the time, we died because of neglect. Now that I look back onto it, I'm surprised that I even survived. Maybe that's why I'm considered small and skinny for my age. Whatever, I could certainly care less.

However, I would soon learn that the happiest day of my life would come on May 14th. I overheard the nuns talking about a family coming, looking to adopt a child. I raised my eyes in delight and quickly ran to tell the other children. I didn't care if I got picked or not (although secretly I really, really, really wanted to get picked), I knew that at least one, or even perhaps two of us would start a fresh new life.

The next few days were hectic. All of a sudden, the nuns were pampering us like they would have done to royal figures or people with power. I knew the reason for it, but still enjoyed the attention I was receiving. I guess they didn't want to look bad or something. 

Well anyway, the day finally came when the family arrived. Everyone was excited, but if you looked closed enough, there was this look that the nuns were hiding. Once this was over with, they would go back to their evil ways. I remember shivering at the thought and my desperation to be picked sky rocketed. 

But things wouldn't go my way. That morning, I was carrying a pail of water from the well, back to the dining room when I tripped over something – I never knew what it was – and yeah, you guessed it, the pail went flying and the water doused a nun, and not just any nun. It was the meanest of them all. Everyone called her Sister Yumi. I remember the feeling I had when she bore me down with her eyes, as she was drenched. I laughed. It had to be the funniest sight my eyes had ever held…….at the time. Yeah, I know – wrong move. 

The next thing I knew was being beaten severely and not being able to participate in the adoption program. As I was being dragged to my room by Sister Yumi, who was holding my unusually long hair, which I remember being tied in a braid that day, I spotted some children with smiles across their faces. Then I knew – it was all planned. I suppose they guessed I had the best chance to be picked. Right then and there, I despised every single one of them. And I knew, if I stayed at the orphanage another day, it would be torture. 

The next thing I knew was a sound of a click, which I soon found out, was the lock of the door. Already on the verge of crying, I completely broke down. 

I had previously thought that my chance of being picked was zero, so I remember crying myself to sleep. That happened a lot. 

The next thing that happened, I still don't remember clearly.

I woke up at the sound of murmurs outside my door. I froze in fear. Obviously the child was chosen, the family was gone, and now came Sister Yumi to give me a beating that I didn't deserve in the first place. I quickly hid in the farthest corner of the room – yeah, I know – dumb move, but hey, I was only ten at the time.

The door suddenly opened, and in came Sister Yumi………with a smile on her face. I was confused. The smile she had looked very……strained, as if she was forcing it upon herself. Everything then happened so fast.

In came two adults……that were not from the orphanage, due to their strange clothing they were wearing. At first, I had no clue who they were, and my only logical guess was that they were _that_ family that came for the adoption. But I still held onto the thought that the family was already gone, and these people were some kind of police here to arrest me, or something of the sort.

That next second, my **whole** life would change. Behind the strange woman's leg, came a kid with red hair. At first glance, he looked as old as I did, only had a few inches of height than I did. Anyway, at that second, I didn't know what was happening, but he suddenly came up to me with a frown. He then brought out his hand. I thought he was going to hit me so I cowered in fear. Then came the sound of his voice, a voice I would never ever forget.

"Hiya. What's your name?"

I stared at him, and found myself stuttering out my name. "Misao." Now that I think about it, I'm surprised he heard me.

He stared at me for a minute, as if examining me, then smiled as he took my hand. "Do you want to be my sister?"

I really don't remember what exactly was going through my mind when he said that. But you could imagine what it could have been. I obviously nodded………and from that day, my life was……well……in my view…perfect.

I soon found out that my parents were **extremely** nice people. They actually fed me food – three times a day too! And gave me beautiful clothes to wear, even kimonos. I never did find a taste for them, but I wore them anyway. Everyone did say I look beautiful in it.

However, nobody in the world could compare to my brother. What can I say about him? There's so much I could praise about him, but I'm sure he wouldn't like that though. He never took compliments from me…….always saying that I deserved everything I received. But I always did thank him for everything he did for me – at least he took those.

For instance, I remember one night……it was the first year I spent with the Himuras. It was my birthday. My birthday always brought bad memories………usually about the parents that gave me away without a second thought. Anyway, I remember crying that night in my room. I was pretty sure that everyone had gone asleep, but there a silent knock at the door and I heard my brother's voice. I told him that everything was fine and quickly wiped away my tears. He entered anyway – he always did that too. Next thing I knew……I was in his embrace, crying my heart away……relishing the comfort he was giving me……the comfort I never had. The next morning, I woke up to find him sitting in a chair next to my bed, sleeping. As the thoughts of that previous night came back to me, I started to cry again. At that sound, he suddenly woke up and quickly asked me what was wrong. I just shook my head, gave him a kiss on the cheek and hugged him. I think he received my message of thanks because as soon as I looked at his face again, he was smiling.

And yeah, I lived my life like that for some time. It was like heaven, having parents like the Himuras and that redheaded brother of mine. Yeah, yeah, I always did find it strange that his parents both had black hair and he had red, but I didn't care – that just made him all the more special.

But as usual, all good things come to an end. It was my two-year anniversary with the Himuras – so I was twelve, and so was my brother. He only did have a few months above me in age. But that is not the important part. That night we were supposed to go out and celebrate. I overheard (yeah, I'm a sneaky girl, but hey, what can I say?) my new mom talking to my brother about buying me a present. I was ecstatic. I couldn't wait.

So my brother and me stayed home while our parents went out. 

They never came home.

It was already midnight and my brother tucked me to bed, but I couldn't sleep. Our parents still hadn't arrived. He kept whispering to me that they would be home any minute, with a huge present for me. I didn't care for the present, I just wanted my parents to be safe.

Two hours later, we heard the phone ring. I saw the relief in my brother's **violet** eyes. As he picked up the phone, I noticed his expression change from hope to despair in a split second. 

He just nodded and put back the receiver. I was going to ask what was wrong, but before he did, he hoped into my bed and lay down next to me, and whispered something to me – another sentence from my brother that would change the course of my life. "Mom and dad died."

For the first time since my eleventh birthday, I cried myself to sleep. My brother was there for me the whole time.

The next morning I heard knocking. My brother was still asleep so I decided to open it myself. Opening the door revealed a guy, a very tall guy, with long, black hair – almost as long as mine. I backed away in fear……afraid that this person was going to take me away and hit me. But then I saw my brother coming down the stairs as he nodded to the strange guy. 

"C'mon Misao. We're going with Uncle Hiko." he said, unemotionally.

So, we packed and attended our parents' funeral. For the first time, I couldn't get myself to cry. I just held onto my brother as we watched the gravediggers lower the coffin into the ground.

And so that part of my life was complete.

And the next chapter opened up just as quickly.

We moved from Kyoto to Tokyo. 

We lived with Hiko Sejiro. 

All in all, he was a strange guy. He would always make fun of us, calling my brother a "baka deshi" and me "a weasel girl." This really got me mad. But I soon realized that it was his weird way of showing us he cared. So I got used to it.

However, there was one strange factor that I never understood why it had happened. My brother's eyes……….sometimes………they would change to an **amber yellow**. At first, whenever he looked at me with those eyes, it scared the hell out of me. But deep down, he was always the same person I always came to love as a brother. I accepted the change without protest………and we lived life there on.

Uncle Hiko trained my brother in the art of sword fight. He called it the Hiten Mitsurugi Style. Strangely, I found it interesting and asked him if he could train me. He just laughed. I was so furious at that moment, but in the end, he did teach me something. I now know how to throw kunais – throwing knives – with pinpoint accuracy. And I also know martial arts. But I could never compare to my brother. His skills with a sword are immeasurable………and later, he would go on to win tournaments with his skill, always blowing out the competition. As for me, I would win contests too………in archery and martial arts. 

I slowly grew content with my new life. But my brother………something seemed different with him. He didn't smile as much, rarely talked as much, and sometimes……became a bit too overprotective (not that I cared) of me. He threw death glares at any boy that would look at me, in his words, "the wrong way." Glares……with his amber yellow eyes, that would scare the shit out of people. It wasn't a sudden change, but a slow one that progressed over the years. 

Slowly, my brother confined his feeling into himself, and rarely ever expressed his emotions anymore, well, besides anger for enemies and his compassion for me. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't get him to open up. So I shrugged, and came to the conclusion that if my brother wanted his privacy, I should let him have it. Yeah, I know………probably was a huge mistake. 

We attended school like all normal kids……always walking to school rather than taking the bus. I never complained though. I always did want to stay in shape. 

However, every few months, we would have to change schools……problems with my brother's behavior and on really rare occasions, acts of throwing kunais at students who looked like the orphan children of my past. 

And so, we lived our life like that…………that is until our senior year of high school. We had moved back to Tokyo from Nagasaki, where we were expelled from yet, another school, this time, because of my brother. I didn't care. I never really liked that school anyway.

Once again, another huge turning point in my life would come. Like I said before, my brother and I were in our senior year – both seventeen years of age. There was only one more high school left in Tokyo that we weren't expelled from, so Hiko made us go to that. As both my brother and I would soon learn – "Thank god we got expelled from every other school."

So yes, here I am, in the kitchen of the apartment my brother and I live in. Uncle Hiko is rarely home, usually only once a month or so. Always on some kind of business trip. I don't care. As long as my brother is here to protect and comfort me, I'm fine. 

Now that I think about it, you're probably wondering why my name is Misao Makimachi-Himura, rather than Misao Himura. Well, I came to the conclusion that since the nuns at my orphanage were **evil** in their own way, they might have been lying about my parents abandoning me, so I decided to keep that last name. Out of respect I guess. I mean, my mom did go through nine months with me. That proves something, doesn't it? Whatever. I can always change it later, so no biggy.

Anyway, I'm making breakfast, while my brother got to sleep in. It's our first day of school. As I am stirring our Miso Soup, I see a couple of kids running around – a brown-haired boy………around the age of eleven or so, playing with a brown-hair girl–again, same age. "Cute."

I see a girl with midnight blue color hair with a indigo ribbon in her hair, walk past our window (she looks pretty), talking to some really tall brown-haired guy………with a red headband on. And another girl……this one much taller then the blue-haired girl…….and this one with greenish hair I think? She looked like a fox from this angle. 

Moments later, I see another boy walking past my window. I drop everything I have in my hands. **Damn, he's hot!** Tall, beautiful black hair cascading down in front of his eyes, white trenchcoat on, making his body stature……in one word………sexy. He looks muscular and makes me think if he could win in a fight against my brother. I quickly doubt it. My brother is just too good. I watch this boy dreamily, as I hope he goes to the same school I do. 

Suddenly, something burning catches my attention. I looked down and see I have yet again, overheated the soup. I frown. My brother certainly won't like this at all. Yet, despite myself, I giggle. My brother will somehow find a way to compliment me on my cooking anyway.

"KENSHIN! BREAKFAST IS READY!"

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Author's Notes: Well, this is my first attempt at a lengthy Rurouni Kenshin story here.   
Just to let you guys know, not every chapter will be written in someone's point of view. Probably just the first couple.

This story is an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE - so expect so OOC from some of the original characters, although I will try to the best of my abilities to keep them how they would act in the show/manga. 

The next chapter is written in Kaoru's standpoint. 

And don't worry about the romance. This is definitely K/K with A/M and S/M too! 

Please, **READ AND REVIEW!** Thanx

Till next chapter,   
vindemon64

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	2. The First of Many

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Disclaimer: I regret to inform all of you that I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or its characters, although I do own any created characters that my imagination comes up with.

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Chapter 2 – The First of Many

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Author's Notes: Ok, a quick note here you guys should read so this story will make more sense to you guys. My fic will follow how Japan goes through their school system. Regularly, in America, the students would change classes every period. But in Japan, it is the students who remain in the same classroom all day and the teachers who change classes every period. Got that? Cool. 

FYI: This chapter is told in Kaoru's point of view.

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"……so Jou-chan, listen up. The guy says, 'Duh, that's why he came!" my friend exclaimed as he mimicked the guy he was talking about.

I laughed despite of myself. I actually found that one funny. Usually Sanosuke's jokes are just plain stupid, but this one, was actually funny. I can't believe it. Ok, that got old quickly. 

Well, here I am, walking with two of my closest friends – Sanosuke Sagara and Megumi Takani. I've known them ever since I was ten and am really blessed to have them as friends. 

You probably don't even know my history. Well, here a quick recap. Not interesting if you ask me.

Born in Kyoto and raised by my beloved parents till I was ten. Then both of them died from cholera. I always find it strange that they both caught the disease and I didn't. I suppose the Kami still has something in store for me – my purpose in life. Whatever, I am just ecstatic about having the gift of life. 

Behind me, some few feet away from the three of us, is my cousin – Aoshi Shinomori. Yeah, at first glance, he looks kind of a loner and scary. But believe me, he's far from it. He actually does have really close friends – four of them. They call themselves the Oniwabanshuu. Someday, I have to ask him what that exactly means. And if I would bet all my money in a sword fight, it would have to be on Aoshi. He is probably the most skilled person I have even seen. His technique seems so much more powerful than any other. And trust me, I've seen a lot.

Anyway, after my parents died, Aoshi and his parents took me in, being the closest relatives I had. To put it all in one sentence, they were great. Aoshi's parents were extremely nice to me, as well as Aoshi himself. He always took care of me and comforted me when I was down or felt sad about anything. I'm truly blessed to have a cousin like him.

As to the reason to why I know Aoshi is the best in swordfighting, well, I've seen almost every other technique out there. I am also a student of sword techniques myself, too. To tell you guys the truth, my father left notes for me – of him wanting to train me in the Kamiya Kasshin Style of sword fight – the blade that protects. I found it very interesting, and well, you can guess what I did after that. Train.

So I lived life like that, always joining the school's sword team. We don't use real swords; just wooden ones that are carved to look like real ones. **Not **kendo sticks either. But really, those wooden swords that we do use are pretty lethal if one knew how to use one, like Aoshi, not that he ever used a sword like that.

Then, Aoshi's mother died. And thus was the beginning of Aoshi's cold-like attitude towards everyone. He only opens up to me, and that's rarely as well. To make a long story short, we comforted each other through that trying time and battled to make our lives as normal as possible. And we achieved that goal pretty successfully.

Our life went on and on, till we reach present time, as I am once again pretending to listen to one of Sanosuke's jokes. Truthfully, I would rather sit through history class than listen to him. No, wait, scratch that. Saitoh Hajime teaches history. That's the last place I would want to be. And wouldn't you believe that history is the first class of my day. Mou! How annoying.

Anyway, enough about me. Sanosuke, Sano for short, over there is a pretty cool guy, although he gets cocky sometimes. His brother, Yahiko, is a totally different story that I really don't feel like getting into right now.

On my other side, is Megumi. She's nice also, when she's not making fun of me. All in all, she's a great friend. And I can swear that Sano has that _something_ for Megumi, but that is none of my business.

As for me, my name is Kaoru Kamiya. Yeah, I chose not to take Aoshi's last name and add it to mine. I loved my parents dearly, so I chose to keep their last name. I want to be remembered as a Kamiya, and not a Kamiya-Shinomori or whatever, no offense to Aoshi. I'm not that popular in school, unlike Megumi. You know, she was voted class queen three years in a row. I'm pretty sure she's looking for the clean sweep. She'll probably win that also. There are just no girls that come close to her. Yeah, people do say I'm also very beautiful, but I suppose I never found the reason to enter those contests. 

That's really all you need to know about my past and me. Nothing interesting, besides that, has really happened to me. If you want to know some other pointless facts – yeah, I've had a couple of boyfriends before, but nothing serious. I haven't even kissed a boy on the lips yet. They were only one or two week stands. I just haven't found that "special" person yet. And the way I look at it – I have my whole life to search. Let me just get through this last year of high school, which will probably be as uneventful as the last three.

Our school – Tokyo Megaplex High – TMH for short is not all its cracked up to be. We might have the strictest teachers in our school, but that doesn't mean we're the smartest. Our Brain Team hasn't even come close in winning a competition. We do have some cool clubs, but those are just for fun, like the drama club that I am in. This year, we will be performing a play about a character during the Revolution of the 1860's. I just can't wait. Anyway, even our Swordfight Team stinks. Dead last! I try to get Aoshi to join, but he says_, "its no use with only one good person on the team. You need a lot."_ Eh, his loss, right?

"So, I hear that this year we should be getting a couple of transfer students in our class? I wonder how they'll be." Megumi had just asked all of a sudden.

I roll my eyes at her. Last year we had a transfer student. He was in our school for a month till he transferred back out. I had to admit that his sword skills were pretty good, but I doubt anywhere near Aoshi's. I think his name was Soujiro or something of the sort. He was a shy kid, not very outspoken. Whatever. The transfer kids we get are just normal people. For once, I would like something special happen to our school. Just once.

I just shrugged at Megumi's question. That seemed to satisfy her as she started to talk about something else – Kami knew what. 

Well, before I even knew it, I was walking into my classroom where I would be spending more than half the year in. Now that I think about it, I wonder how long the average student spends in school. I'll figure it out someday.

At least this year, Megumi, Sano and Aoshi are all in the same class as me. I remember last year, I had to go through the whole school year without one of them in the same class as me. Sure, I made other friends, but it definitely was not the same. Anyway, I found my seat, which was at the back of the room. And to make matters worse, Aoshi's, Sano's and Megumi's were in the front of the room. Go figure! I'm just cursed with bad luck. 

Anyway, it turns out that there are two seats, one in front of me and on next to me, that are empty. I suppose they are for the new transfer students. Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to get to know them.

"Seated! NOW!" a voice suddenly boomed from nowhere.

By now, I was used to it, but a look at everyone else's faces had already told me that they never had Hajime-sensei as a teacher. _"Ha!"_ Were they in for a real treat. I guess having him for four straight years can get me used to his obnoxious attitude. Despite the fact, I took my seat and opened my ears for him.

Saitoh, yes, I prefer to refer to him on a first name basis, looked around the room. His eyes easily passed over me. I guess he expected me to be there, knowing that this was my seat for the past four years! 

"First order of business. We have two new transfer students!" 

At this, everyone gasped. I looked around the room, quite surprised. I thought everyone knew. I suppose not.

"You will treat them with respect and courtesy as you do with all your other classmates. They are siblings, if you wanted to know." Saitoh suddenly snapped his fingers and the door opened. My curiosity got the better of me, as I soon found myself, along with my classmates turning my head towards the newcomers. 

  
Two people, one girl and one boy, walked in. The girl had a bluish tone to her hair, which was tied in a long braid that went down to her legs. I wonder how she cleaned it everyday? Must have taken a lot of shampoo. The girl looked happy to be here, as her jolly facial expression gave everything away. 

As I turned my attention to the boy, I suddenly found myself holding my breath. Not only was this boy different, he was totally the hottest guy I've seen on Earth. His fiery red hair, almost as long as mine, cascaded down his eyes, hiding their true color. The rest of his hair was tied behind him with a simple band. I spotted a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek. I overheard other girls talking about the boy as well, and almost all of them had the same opinion as I did. I wonder how he obtained that strange scar. 

The mandatory navy blue uniform only helped to make him stand out. And to think, these two were brother and sister!? How in the world did that happen!

"All of you will show your respect towards Misao Makimachi-Himura and Kenshin Himura. Must I need to say anything else?"

I really didn't pay any attention to what Saitoh was saying after he said the names. Both of them were a complete mystery. Why did the girl have a double last name while the boy solely had one? I was snapped out of my thoughts at the sound of Saitoh's voice.

"Kamiya! Raise your hand!"

I did as I was told and quickly found out that the strange were coming over to me. The girl turned out to sit right next to me while a certain redheaded student obscured my view of the front of the room. Not that I cared, though. 

"Now since that problem is taken care, we'll start where you kids left of last year, the history of Japan in the 1800's. Just to let you know, I _will_ reach the Revolution by mid-year, which is December! I hope all of you have taken that down. Good! Now, the end of the eighteenth century marked…………"

I resolved to settle the mystery of the siblings later as I quickly dipped into my bag to get something to write on. I noticed Misao doing the same thing. As I began to take notes, my eyes drifted towards Kenshin. The only thing I could see was the back of his redhead, but his arms weren't moving. He was not taking notes? Not a smart…….."

"Himura!"

"……move." I finished in my mind. I noticed the whole class turn their attention towards Kenshin, with the exception of his sister. She was still diligently taking notes. 

  
"Do you have a problem? Or do you not prefer taking notes?" Saitoh asked menacingly. 

"My sister takes notes. I'll just use hers." he answered, rather calmly. This Kenshin guy was just asking for it. However, Saitoh just stared at him, and….seemed………rather on level with Kenshin. I don't know how exactly to explain it, but maybe it was the way Kenshin returned Saitoh's stare that proved to be the deciding factor. Either way, Saitoh continued on lecturing. What the hell just happened there? Did I miss something? 

I looked at the rest of the class, save for Misao, and for some reason, all of them seemed to be………backing away in fear of Kenshin? Well, except for Aoshi that is. His face was turned the other way, so I couldn't see. What exactly did I miss?

"Kamiya! Do you have a problem?"

I quickly shook my head as I busied myself with taking notes. _"Mou!"_ We're not even in the first hour of school, and already everything seems weird. I just better take notes now and ask questions later. However, the mystery still lingered in the back of my mind. Who exactly are these people, and where did they come from?

The dreaded two hours finally came to a close as Saitoh finished up his lecture and quickly left the room. I wonder what his problem was. He seemed a bit uptight throughout the whole period. Anyway, we had our usual fifteen-minute recess before the next teacher came in, which was mathematics and business economic instructor. Goes by the name of Kanryu-sensei. I think he's new or something. 

Quickly packing up my things in my bag, I went to chat with Megumi and Sano, however, they were already engrossed into a deep conversation of their own.

"Did you see the look in his eyes? Damn, the second I looked at it, I was already freaked out." Sano whispered.

I saw Megumi nod as she stole a glance towards the two new students. "Yeah, I know. Scary if you ask me."

"What's so scary?" Once again, my curiosity was getting the better of me. 

Almost immediately, Megumi covered my mouth. She signaled me to keep my voice down and I nodded. I repeated my question again, still wanting to know what was so scary. 

"The red hair guy's eyes. I saw the look he gave Hajime-sensei. You were lucky to be sitting behind him Kaoru." For some reason, there was a slight pause in Megumi's voice. "Then again Kaoru, maybe it's even worse for you."

I looked over towards the two newcomers and noticed Misao happily chatting away to her brother, who seemed to be in his own little world. The girl seemed to be free of worries. And Kenshin……well, he did not seemed to be bothered by the constant chatting his sister was seemed to be giving him.

"Man, I've never seen anyone so confident against Saitoh." Sano replied as he started to chew an old fishbone (don't ask me why) he kept in his pocket. "Kind of makes me want to know the guy's secret, huh?"

Megumi just nodded as she applied some light blush to her creamy skin. I shrugged as I began to get bored by the conversation Sano and Megumi were having. I spotted Aoshi with one of his friends. Beshimi, I think his name was. Small little fellow, but very athletic. I decided not to join in with Aoshi. Knowing him, they were having some weird conversation about sword fighting or something. 

Just as I turned around, I came face to face with Misao. "Ahhhhh!!!" Yes, I'll admit it. I made a fool out of myself as everyone in the room turned their attention towards me. Well, everyone except for Kenshin that is, who still continued to stare out the window. "Mou! Misao, don't do that to me."

As I regained my breath, Misao had an apologetic look upon her face. "Oh, I'm sorry………um………"

"Kaoru. Kaoru Kamiya." I finished for her.

The girl nodded thoughtfully. "I'll be sure the remember that. Anyway, I was just wondering if you were able to write down the last couple of notes Hajime-sensei gave to us. My hand was getting tired and I just couldn't write anymore."

  
I smiled at the girl as I nodded and led her to my desk where I pulled out my notebook and handed it to her. She took it with pleasure as she quickly returned to her desk and started copying whatever she needed to copy. 

While her attention was diverted, I was able to get a better look at her. She was only a little shorter than I, maybe by about two or three inches. The mandatory uniform made her look exactly like one of those kawaii schoolgirls. _"Cute."_ I thought. Her hair was pretty long and simply braided. She had a greenish hue to her eyes. But there was still one huge fact eluding me. Her brother did not look anything like her. I don't know where I got it from, but somehow, I found enough courage to ask her the question.

"Hey Misao. No offense, but you don't look anything like your brother. I was just wondering………."

"Yep, I'm adopted." she spontaneously replied as she continued copying. 

"Oh……I'm sorry………"

She finished whatever she was doing and handed me my notebook. "Don't be. I'm happy, so there is no reason why you should be sad."

I was about to say something else when Kanryu-sensei popped in. 

"Ok, get seated and we'll start."

I returned to my seat, which was only like a step away. It wasn't till I looked up when I realized that Kenshin had been there the whole time. I gasped despite of myself, which earned a thoughtful stare from Misao. I looked at her blankly and she began to giggle. 

"Recently Japan's economy has been on a slump……." Kanryu-sensei began. I answered Misao's giggle with a smile of my own as I began taking notes about the lesson. And like before, Kenshin made no move to take down anything. I wonder if his sister minded that Kenshin used her notes all the time. I have to remember to ask her that.

"So, what's the news on the new kids?" Sano immediately asked as I sat down at our lunch table.

"Huh? News?"

"C'mon Jou-chan. We saw you talking to Misao. C'mon, spit it out. What did you learn?"

"Don't leave us out Kaoru." Megumi added.

I sweated. Mou! If _they_ were that interested in them, I wonder what the other students wanted to know. "Well, I didn't get to learn much. All I got to know is that they are not siblings by blood. Misao is adopted."

"Oh……" Sano had whispered out in a low voice.

I shook my head. "Don't feel sorry for her. She said she was happy. I don't know what exactly she means by that, but just don't feel sorry for her. And oh yea, don't go telling everyone in the whole school. I don't want to be the one for her embarrassment."

"Hey, don't you trust us?" the rooster-head asked innocently. 

"No! And that counts for you too Megumi. I just know how you love to gossip!"

"You're talking about _me_? Relax Kaoru, we won't breathe a word."

I eyed her piercingly before I sighed. I just knew it was a mistake telling them. Both of them couldn't keep their mouths shut if their life depended on it. Anyway, we ate and chatted about random things when in the middle of lunch recess, Aoshi joined our table. 

"Kaoru. I finally dug out some information about Kenshin."

Both Sano and Megumi blinked at him for a second before begging to let them know the info. I sighed again. "Well, you better listen to the two dogs before they start clawing on your shoe." 

"Well, remember Kaoru. Couple of years back when it was rumored that there was an incredible sword fighter who won competitions using a technique that used "**super-sonic blade swings**?" I thought about it for a minute before I nodded.

"Yeah, now that you mention it. I remember about that. Supposedly he was the best of the best."

Aoshi nodded solemnly. "Well, Kenshin is that guy. Red hair and cross-shaped scar on his left cheek. No doubt about it."

I sneaked a glance towards Kenshin, who was seated, at the back of the lunchroom with only his sister to accompany him. Misao, once again, was happily chatting away to her brother as Kenshin was quietly sipping his soup. 

It suddenly struck me as to how opposite they were of each other. Misao seemed to be the upbeat, cheerleader type of girl. Always seeming cheerful and loquacious. Kenshin, on the other hand, was just full of mysteries. Quiet, the lone-wolf warrior. Even if they were adopted, they should be somewhat alike in personalities. But they were total opposites. Very peculiar.

"Heh! Kenshin, strong? He looks weak to me. Just look at how thin he is!"

  
Of course, Sano made that comment. 

  
"I mean, no offense to him or anything, but he could pass for a girl if he dressed in a traditional hakama and gi, with that long hair of his."

Aoshi suddenly snorted as he left to sit with his "_group_." Leave it up to Sano to make a dumb remark. "And what are you Sano, superman? C'mon, you're afraid of Megumi and I. And if my memory serves me correctly, you're always getting beaten up by Katsu-san, right?"

"Yeah, well. Aw, c'mon Jou-chan. Cut me some slack. You know that after I finish my training with Anji-san over at the gym, I'm going to be unstoppable."

"Yeah, when pigs fly, right?" I added. Megumi and I shared a hearty laugh at Sano's expense. Sano just sat right back down chewing on his fishbone, muttering something under his breath I couldn't hear. It better not have been about me.

"Hey Kaoru. How come you're defending Kenshin over there all of a sudden. Don't tell me you got the hots for him already. Ohohohohoho" Megumi all of a sudden stated.

I don't know what clicked inside of me, but I found myself blushing beat red, and of course, Sano did not let this opportunity go to waste. "Wow Jou-chan. Four hours and you're already in love with him. Makes we wonder where you'll be in four days."

"Mou! I can't believe you two!" Thankfully, Saitoh had blown the whistle, signaling the end of lunch recess. I quickly got out of there as soon as I can, but not before something happened.

I bumped into someone. 

  
"Oww…… Why don't you watch were you're going!" As I looked up to see whom I had collided with, I wish I took back what I had said.

  
It was Kenshin.

I quickly looked down to the floor as I slowly stood up. I could feel his stare penetrating into my soul. 

"Sorry Kaoru-dono." an apathetic voice whispered out so low, I had to strain to the fullest to actually hear what he said.

And with that, the redhead walked away. It was a full minute when I realized that I had been staring at him the whole time. Quickly snapping myself out of the reverie, I took a quick glance toward Sano and Megumi, who were chuckling, at my expense. The nerve of them!

The rest of the day, fortunately, went by uneventfully. There was only one class after lunch before we were let out for the rest of the day. How ironic, isn't it? Just earlier today I was wishing for something _different_ to happen, and now, I want the uneventful TMH back. But I doubt that'll ever happen again.

I collected my things and went to join Sano and Megumi, as we walked back home together. Like usual, Sano was trying to impress us, mainly Megumi, with one of his lame jokes. I don't know about Megumi, but I learned a long time ago to simply agree and nod when Sano tells jokes. 

I was happily walking home when my eyes suddenly spotted Kenshin and Misao in the distance. I had to squint to see them, but I saw Kenshin walking with a hyperactive Misao skipping around him, mouthing off whatever she was saying. I smiled. 

This year was going to be different. Day one had already told me that. I found myself eagerly awaiting tomorrow. Another day that would be interesting, another day that would prove to be worth it, and secretly, I knew that it would be another day to risk glances at Kenshin.

Today was just the first - the first of many………that are yet to come.

****

Author's Notes: Well, there is chapter two of my story. I hope you guys like it. This fic is my first attempt at first-person based stories, and I hope I'm doing a good job at it.

Anyway, I did mention last chapter that this fic was not going to be in the first-person view every chapter. I might have to scratch that out. I might just do each chapter in someone's standpoint. I don't know yet. 

Next chapter, however, will be in Misao's standpoint again.

And remember to **LEAVE A REVIEW** on your thoughts. It really means a lot.

Till next chapter,  
vindemon64


	3. And It Begins

****

Disclaimer: I regret to inform all of you that I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or its characters, although I do own any created characters that my imagination comes up with.

**************************

Chapter 3 – And It Begins

**************************

Author's Notes: This chapter will be told in Misao's point of view.

****

"But Kenshin!! It's not fair!!"

I watched as my redheaded brother opened the door and started to walk out. It definitely was not fair. Here I had to cook dinner **and** do my unfinished homework. Then again, it was my fault from the beginning. Maybe if I hadn't spent my hours watching television and had done my homework once I got home from school…like Kenshin…then I wouldn't be in this situation to begin with.

But again, I just had to try. "Pleeeeaasssse Kenshin! Can't you cook for me just once! Pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaassssssssee!"

I grinned inwardly. I knew this would work. There was no way that Kenshin would turn me down after I began to beg. No way in hell.

"Sorry Misao. I'm leaving." And then he shut the door right in my face.

Ugh!! The nerve of him. Knowing I had lost the battle, I slumped down into the sofa and drooped. It was just not fair. I looked over at the television. It was still on. I completely forgot about it.

"Well, its six o'clock Misao. If you know what's good for you, you better get going on your work before your up till midnight trying to finish whatever." I told myself. Just as I was about to turn off the television, a special commercial caught my eye. I watched it with wide eyes…………then grinned. Well, at least I wouldn't have to cook dinner anymore. 

Wasting no time, I picked up the telephone and dialed the number on the television. 

"Hi. Akabeko? Yes, I would like to order your special for today that's only two yen. Yeah, uh huh. Ok, yes, I would like to have it delivered as well." After giving the restaurant my address, I congratulated myself for a job well done. Kenshin would never know the difference. And if he did………oh well. Now on to homework. However, I still don't understand how Kenshin finished it so quickly when he didn't even take notes. 

  
Yeah, you would think that I would be mad at the fact that Kenshin would be using my notes. Then you don't know me that well. Kenshin is the only good aspect my life still has. I live because of him and love him dearly. I wouldn't mind sharing my notes with him if he asked. But he didn't even ask me. I swear, that brother of mine has some kind of telephoto memory or something. 

Ok, now I'm wasting time. Let's see. First question:

__

"What is the square root of fifty-six multiplied by seventy? Leave it in rational form."

I stared at the question blankly for a few minutes. Was this in another language, or what? I don't know how to do this. Hmm………let's see where Kenshin put his homework. I'll just take a little peek as to exactly **_how_** he did the problem, hehehe.

It was about seven-thirty when I finally finished my homework. Heh, you wouldn't know, but I jumped liked crazy after finishing that last algebra problem. Math is definitely not my subject. 

  
I looked out the window and still saw no sign of Kenshin. By now, I was used to him being gone for an hour or two, but that never stopped me from worrying about him. I shrugged and decided to step outside myself for some fresh air. The food from the Akabeko wouldn't arrive till eight, which meant I had a whole thirty minutes to myself. Perfect.

I quickly slipped on some sandals and started walking around. Ever since we moved here, I haven't had the chance to actually look around town and observe it. Now that I take a look, I noticed the beautiful scenery around. There was a gorgeous park only five minutes away from our apartment. A perfect place to train or just hang out. As I began walking towards the park, I spotted some kinds hanging our by the pond. 

Hiding behind a tree, I sneaked a peek at them. They actually were kids from my class. I instantly noticed Kaoru staring out at see in bliss as two of her friends where quietly chatting to each other – the rooster head guy and the girl that looked like a fox from a distance. I smiled sadly at them, envying them for their closeness in friendship. I always wondered how it would be to have friends like that. But then again, I have Kenshin. Why am I so sad? I silently began to walk away, not caring where my feet were taking me.

Don't get me wrong, Kenshin is great. But I wish I had some "close" friends like that. I fell a tear fall from my face, but quickly wiped it away. If I didn't get back soon, Kenshin would start to worry, and plus, the delivery guy from the Akabeko might leave.

Because I was looking at the ground while I was walking (I know a lot of people who do that), I had no clue where I ended up. All I know was that right in front of my eyes was the person of my dreams. Once again, I quickly hid behind the nearest bush and spied on him.

I remember his name clearly. Aoshi Shinomori. How could one forget a name like that? Mysterious, but a certain ring to it. I watched him carefully. Because he was training, I couldn't get a good look at his face, but damn, what he taller than I thought he was, and did I mention **good-looking** as well? I felt myself drool and quickly slapped myself mentally. I had to get back………but I didn't know how. Well I guess I had to introduce myself one way or another, right?

Gathering up all the courage I had, I walked out into the field where he was training. He was holding two swords, one bigger than the other. I think they were kodachies or something. "Umm………hi?"

I don't think he heard me because he did not stop swinging his blades. I guess I didn't speak loud enough. "Hiya." This time I know I spoke audibly.

Yet again, Aoshi did not stop. Was this guy deaf or something? "HELLO!"

He suddenly stopped. _'Finally.'_

"I heard you the first time Misao."

If you could have seen my face, it would have been in a state of shock. He knows my name. I didn't know whether to be glad or mad. "How do you know my name?"

"We're in the same class, aren't we?"

Before I knew what I was doing, I nodded. I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out. What was I suppose to say? Wasn't I going to ask him something? Damn! I forgot.

He finally turned around, and for the first time ever, I saw his face. If I would have died right then and there, I would have been the happiest girl on Earth. Words could not describe him. His eyes were the most beautiful shade of blue I've ever seen and his lips………I wonder how they would feel………ahhhh! _'Going to far Misao. You just met him. Relax.'_

Relax? How can I relax when Aoshi is right in front of me?

"Do you want to join me for some tea? I brought some extra, if you like?"

I think I did die and went to heaven. Did Aoshi just ask me to join him for tea? I don't even like tea, but if it's with Aoshi, who cares? For some reason, my eyes traveled to the watch on my wrist and read the time – five minutes to seven.

My brain finally started up again as I remembered dinner and Kenshin. And what I was supposed to ask Aoshi. 

I couldn't believe I was going to do this. "Sorry Aoshi. I, uh, have to get back home. You know, dinner. And I don't want my brother to worry. But, I was wondering if you could tell me where the red apartments are located. Uh, I'm kinda lost."

He simply pointed to the left. I nodded and oddly walked quickly out of there. Once out of his sight, I stopped and cursed myself. All I know is – that food from the Akabeko better be some **damn **good grub. If not, then someone is going to feel the wrath of Misao Makimachi-Himura.

I finally found my way home and stomped into my apartment, fuming mad. There Kenshin was, sitting lazily on the couch, watching television. He looked at me, probably saw my raging emotion of anger, and started to open his mouth, no doubt to ask me what happened.

"Don't…even…ask…Kenshin."

And that subject quickly came to a close. Kenshin still had a look of worry over me, but I simply waved my hand, telling him to forget about it. 

Just then, the doorbell rang. Oh yeah, the Akabeko food. Like I said before – it **better** be good.

I opened the door, expecting to find the delivery guy at least a teenager. But I looked down and saw a boy, no older than ten or eleven. He had wild, dark brown hair with matching dark brown eyes. 

"You got to be kidding? You can't be the delivery boy. You're not older than eleven!" I exclaimed at him. 

This seemed to hit a fuse inside him because I could have sworn I saw him boiling. "Shut up busu! If I want your opinion, I'll ask for it. Now, are you going to pay me or what?"

__

'Busu?' "Why you little son of a…………"

"Here you go." Out of nowhere, Kenshin came and paid the bill. Well, I suppose I should thank him. Who knows what I would have done if Kenshin hadn't come. 

Still, I needed to know the delivery boy's name. So I could always file a lawsuit or something. "Hey kid, what's your name?"

The little boy just stared at me for a full minute before rolling his eyes. What in the world was he thinking? Better not be anything with "busu," or else.

"Yahiko. And don't you forget it………busu." And with that, he took the money in Kenshin's hand and ran away.

Oh my god. Kami help me. If that kid would have stayed another second, he would have been dead. But I decided to say bye anyway. "Ok Yahiko-CHAN! Bye!"

As I closed the door, I thought I heard him say, "Don't call me –chan!" I giggled anyway. 

I turned around, only to find Kenshin staring directly at me. I gasped. I had completely forgotten that Kenshin expected me to make dinner rather than order it. We had never ordered dinner from a restaurant before. Who knew what kind of reaction he would have.

"You know, we could have eaten there if you had preferred. You could have just asked me."

And with that, he walked into the kitchen. "Better hurry up before it gets cold Misao."

I walked into the kitchen and sat on the table while my brother set everything up. "Well Kenshin!" I emphasized. "I remember me asking you to cook dinner. How come you didn't do it then?" 

He looked at me straight into my eye with his mysterious violet eyes. "You know that's a completely different story Misao."

I pouted. "Pwweeeaassse Kenshin. Just once, so I can at least taste your cooking."

I thought he would finally give in as I saw him thinking about it. "Maybe Misao, maybe. But just don't get your hopes up, that you don't."

I smiled and nodded as I started to eat the food from the Akabeko. Wow! This food is great. Well, I suppose the Akabeko got lucky this time. Next time, I won't be leaving Aoshi, especially if I have to face that brat of a delivery boy again.

Taking a look at Kenshin, he was happily eating as well. But since I knew him for so long, and so well, I knew he had something else on his mind. 

"So Kenshin, where'd you go earlier today?"

"Train." he said nonchalantly, all the while sipping Miso Soup.

If I wanted to know what was occupying his mind, I had to dig further. I quietly ate as I thought about the activities that Kenshin did the whole day. I grinned devilishly as I remember one event that would surely get him to spill the beans.

"Hey Kenshin, you sure all you did was train?"

"Yep."

"You sure you didn't go see Kaoru."

Bingo! The minute I mentioned her name, Kenshin spit out whatever he had in his mouth and onto the wall. "What? Kaoru? No way. What in the world does she have to do with anything?"

Yep, I got him where I want him. "Well, I remember a certain event today in school when Kaoru and you had a "little" collision, right?"

I saw Kenshin starting to get nervous. "There is nothing going on between Kaoru and myself. It was just a collision."

Oooo, his first big mistake. "Hey! I never said anything about a relationship between you and Kaoru. Is there something going on between you two and I should know about, Kennie?" I knew the nickname that our neighbor's granddaughters' gave him would help break him open.

"What? Yeah, no! I mean no, of course not."

I smiled as I continued my onslaught. "And if my memory serves me right, Kenshin – the fourteenth apprentice of the omnipotent Hiten Mitsurugi Style – bumped into someone? I think not."

"Misao, why are you doing this to me?" he asked, almost begged in a degree

"For fun Kenshin, why else? And plus, I just want to know what's happening with my big brother and all. So, are you going to tell me the truth or what?" 

I watched him for a minute as he seemed to argue with himself on whether to let me know the truth or not. However, I knew his answer would be………

"Fine, Misao. I'll tell you."

…yes. He finally surrendered. It was only a matter of time before he did. I adjusted myself comfortably in my chair as I opened my ears to him. 

"Misao……you know I'm never very good with words. Anyway, its just……well……Kaoru intrigues me." And he actually blushed, although it was a light hue.

"Intrigues?" I asked, very intrigued myself in Kenshin's explanation.

"Yeah. From what I heard about her, she's different than any ordinary girl. For beginners, I'll tell you she's beautiful……no more than that. Angelic, in my eyes at least. I'm not sure if its love, who knows. But she's interesting. For example, I overheard some kids talking about her and how she's the only girl on the Swordfight Team. This fact alone already got me interested in her."

I was shocked. I never knew my brother had a side like this inside himself. I nodded, telling him that I understood everything he said so far and at the same time, told him to continue.

He took a deep breath. "She's not like those materialistic girls, who just want to be popular and be rich. She's like you, in a way. She seems to care for the person on the inside; she's sincere, honest, beautiful…………innocent, in some ways."

I smiled. That was the second time he referred to her as beautiful. Who would have thought that Kenshin – MY brother – would fall so easily for this one girl? And that fact that Kenshin said she had characteristics like me gave me even more reasons to smile. "How do you know all of this when you said a total of two words to her?" I just had to know how he found out.

"I gathered what I heard around school and put it all together." he simply stated.

"Well Kenshin, you always know that I could always help."

"No!" I was taken aback at his rapidness to answer negatively. "I'm sorry Misao, but I prefer to do this alone, if you know what I mean. I'll ask for your help if I need it."

I smiled as I walked up to my brother and hugged him. I guessed he had a questionable look on his face when I did, because it took him a second or two to return the hug.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"For finally opening up to me, after what? Like years or so."

He smirked as he threw a washcloth at me. "Yeah, well. Don't get used to it, that you shouldn't. As for dishes. I set up dinner, now you wash it."

It took me awhile to assimilate what he said. "What!? KENSHIN! You can't do this to me!!!! I ordered it in the first place!"

"So, I paid for it, that I did."

"Yeah…but………ugh! FINE!"

I don't care. I was happy. Kenshin actually opened up to me, even if it was about someone else. Now that I think about it, I wonder if Kaoru feels anything towards Kenshin. She did have this weird look on her face of longing and adoration when Kenshin left after they bumped into each other. Oh well, it'll be fun to see how this will all turn out. Hopefully for the better.

I wonder how Kenshin would react if I told him that I thought Aoshi was one good looking guy. ……………oh my god! I completely forgot that I still was supposed to be mad because I couldn't join Aoshi for tea. I wonder if he's still out there. Well, there's one way to find out.

I looked down and saw no more dishes to be cleaned. Quickly taking off the apron and fixing my braided hair, I told Kenshin that I was going to step out for ten or fifteen minutes. Of course, he told me to be careful and all. By now, I was used to his worrying. 

Running towards the park, I tried to retrace the steps that I took to where Aoshi was training. It was getting dark and getting harder to see as well. I dimly spotted the pond where Kaoru and her friends were sitting earlier today. Obviously, they weren't there anymore. Now I knew where I was and quickly took the direction I did earlier. 

And there he was – still there – still training as well. I smiled as I watched him perform some technique that was foreign to me. Still, Kenshin could probably wipe the floor with Aoshi if he tried. But I didn't care. 

"Uh, hiya, again."

Once again, Aoshi paid no attention to me. "Hello?"

I got the same fruitless result the second time. Ugh! The nerve of men! "HELLO!"

Like earlier today, Aoshi stopped once again at my third try. "You know. I heard you the first time."

I shrugged as I carefully walked towards him. He was watching me carefully, I could tell, even though I wasn't looking in his eyes, but towards the ground. "Uh, I was wondering……well, if……I could have a rain check………for tea?" I shut my eyes closed instantly. I probably just made a total fool of myself for asking him for a rain check. 

I stood there for Kami knew how long when Aoshi finally spoke. "Uh, ok."

I looked up and smiled brightly at his look of uncertainty across his face. He probably would have never expected me to come back and ask him for a "rain check." Hehe, what I smart move I just made.

"Okay. So, how does tomorrow? Same time, you know. Around six thirty or so?"

However, to my surprise, Aoshi shook his head. "Sorry, I'm not going to be here tomorrow. I only come to this park once a week."

"Oh." I managed to force a slight smile upon my face at the thought. _'Just great. I managed to miss having tea with Aoshi this week.'_ Then another idea popped into my brilliant mind.

"How about next week then? Same time also."

Aoshi just nodded as I kept my smile across my lips. "Ok, so……I guess I'll see you then? Ok, bye now."

I turned around to leave, only to find myself lost once again. I smiled sheepishly as looked over to Aoshi as he pointed to the left………once again. _'Better keep that in mind.'_ I raced out of the park and headed for my apartment, when a thought crossed my mind.

Did this count as a date or what?

****

Author's Notes: I know I forgot to do this last chapter and to tell you guys the truth, I don't do this often, but let me thank my earlier reviewers:

Kimiko5, blackshadow, BillabongBob3, Misao Mei Mei, kenshin fan, flyinangel777, Lingoddess, dark hope1, missaw, mayabf93, moomoo-chan, Eli-Chan/THE Sock Princess, merlegirl, chocolatetiger23

I heartily thank you for all your support you have given me in writing this fic. You are the reasons why I write and why I'm still in this business.

Anyway, about this chapter - I put in some fluff……sort of, to get things started. I intend for this to be a long fic, and to tell you guys the truth, I don't even know how long. 

I'm in the process of writing the next chapter also, so that'll be in some time next week as well. And FYI, next chapter will be in Kaoru's standpoint.

So I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and remember to **REVIEW!** Thanx!

vindemon64


	4. A Small Preview

****

Disclaimer: I regret to inform all of you that I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or its characters, although I do own any created characters that my imagination comes up with.

****************************

Chapter 4 – A Small Preview

****************************

Author's Notes: This chapter will be in Kaoru's point of view.

****

Once again, Sano was trying to impress Megumi and me with one of his corny jokes. And once again, I wasn't really paying attention. And can you blame me? How could I with what I saw yesterday.

To put it simply – I saw Kenshin.

I'm not totally sure if he saw me or not, but I was completely mesmerized with what he was actually doing. When I saw him yesterday in school, he seemed to set of an aura of fear into other people, including me. Actually, I'm not exactly sure if it was fear that I felt or not when I bumped into him, but who knows. It could have been passed for nervousness. But, that's not the point.

As I said, Kenshin seemed emit fear through people, according to Megumi and Sano. But when I saw him yesterday, I could not believe what my friends had said.

There was Kenshin, playing with both Ayami and Suzumi, two little girls that I baby-sit every now and then for Dr. Genzai, the local doctor. Normally, I would have gone up to the girls and said "hi" or something, but when they were playing with Kenshin, the picture seemed too good to be true. 

There was the redhead, on the grass, wrestling with the little girls as they poked him here and there. And to top things of, Kenshin was laughing! Truth be told, he has one of the most beautiful voices I have ever heard. Even though he was laughing, I could tell his voice was beautiful. Just call it intuition. 

Kenshin was soooo cute playing with them, and then when the girls left, he was just staring out into the small pond, with a relaxed smile upon his face. I would have done anything just to know what he was thinking about at that exact moment. But as usual with my life, good things come to an end as Megumi pulled me roughly to go with her to do some quick shopping. In other words – a two hour shopping spree. However, I was lucky enough to get out of there within the first hour.

I rushed back to see if Kenshin was still there, but found the spot he was standing in, empty. _'Go figure…'_ I had thought. 

As quickly as that thought came, another thought entered my mind just as fast. _'Why do I want to see Kenshin so badly?'_

Before I had any more time to delve into an answer, Megumi was once again pulling me along, but this time to do one of my favorite pass times of all time – sit in front of the park pond and relax. Ohhh, how I just love looking out in the crystal clear water and let my thoughts run wild. It truly is relaxing to both mind and body. 

__

"Brrrrrriiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnngggggggg!!!!!"

"Huh, what in the world was that?"

"The school bell, jou-chan! Now if you don't hurry up, we'll be late for Hajime-sensei's class." 

I sighed and quickly followed Sano into school. Time sure flies when you're lost in your own thoughts. Anyway, I finally entered my classroom and bid farewell to Sano for the time being as he took his seat up front. Taking my respective seat in the back corner of the room, I noticed Misao already there, ready to take notes. I smiled at her as she waved to me. Like Misao, I quickly took out my materials for the class. However, when I looked up, something was missing. It took me awhile to actually realize what exactly it was…………Kenshin!

Again, my curiosity was getting the better of me. "Hey Misao, is your brother sick today or something?" I whispered over to her. 

For some reason, she gave me a funny smile. I don't know how to explain it exactly, but I found her snickering for a moment before she replied.

"Don't worry Kaoru. He has a tendency of being late sometimes. He'll be here. Hasn't missed a day of school yet." I nodded at Misao's comment, but to my surprise, she kept on going. "But my question Kaoru is why you are so worried about him. It's only the second day of school." 

I opened my mouth to reply, but couldn't bring myself to say anything. So I did the only thing I could do, make up the most unbelievable excuse my mind could think of that exact second. "Mou Misao! I just wanted him to be absent so I would have a better view of the board. His wild hair obstructs my view!"

I thought I answered correctly, but Misao just chuckled. I was about to say something else when Saitoh entered the room. And like usual, he got right down to business.

"Alright class. Open your books to page two hundred and we'll begin where we left of yesterday. To begin with, I want all of you to write…………"

And then came in Kenshin Himura…………late! And if I knew Saitoh (which I think I do very well), he does **not** tolerate tardiness one bit. I remember the last kid who was late to his class. Let's just say I never saw him after school for a whole month. Heard the kid had to stay after to clean up Saitoh's classroom every day.

"Himura!"

"Yes, Saitoh." was Kenshin's ever-so casual and apathetic reply.

"Care to explain why you are **late?!**"

The atmosphere was tense. One could actually feel it just by being there. It seemed as if there was some electricity running between Saitoh and Kenshin because they were just staring each other down like rival samurais would have done during the revolution.

I took this time to check out Kenshin, and well, quickly gasped. His whole body seemed to be giving off a totally different aura than yesterday. Yesterday, Kenshin seemed to be a caring, lovable and compassionate person. But today, right now, Megumi's and Sano's definition was right. He seemed to be emitting fear and hatred. I swiftly glanced over to Misao to see her reaction to the situation, and found her rolling her eyes and giving out an exasperated sigh. It was like to her, this whole situation was a common day experience.

Both Kenshin and Saitoh stood there for a full minute – a minute of suspense that would have been enough for my entire life, when Kenshin finally answered.

"No reason, Saitoh."

Saitoh just continued to glare at Kenshin with his menacing eyes. "I see. Then I guess I'll have to think up a punishment for you."

"Fine." was Kenshin's curt reply.

For some reason, Saitoh seemed to be taken aback, because I saw his eyes widen slightly before he regained his regular stature.

"Anyway, as I was saying before I was interrupted, I want all of you to write a quick summary of exactly why the British lost the American Revolution. It should be no more than one page in length. It will be collected and graded. You'll have fifteen minutes to complete it." Saitoh then took another glance towards Kenshin, who was still standing in the front of the class. "You may take your seat Himura."

I soon found my view once again obstructed by the redhead who continued to amaze me every time I set my eyes upon him. I just don't know what exactly to think about him. Should I be afraid of him; should I get to know him? Questions keep on coming that I don't know the answer to. 

I was brought back to reality by a cough from Misao who pointed to her piece of paper. _'Oh yeah, the assignment.'_ Mentally slapping myself for forgetting something that would affect my grade, I quickly went to work on the summary. This was going to be a piece of cake.

Barely five minutes had passed when Kenshin stood up and handed Saitoh his paper. I didn't know what to think. In class, Kenshin doesn't copy down any of the notes Saitoh gives us, and here he is, the first one finished, and in record time. I swear I thought I heard the whole class gasp at the same time. Well, maybe with the exception for Aoshi. Who knows what's going through his mind.

Unfortunately for me, I couldn't see Saitoh's reaction because I was too busy on my own paper. But I could only imagine what it could have been – surprise most likely. 

Well anyway, I finished my paper, ironically, at the same time Misao did and we both handed it together. And slowly, the rest of the class handed theirs in eventually. And before long, Saitoh was once again relaying notes to us. And once again, Kenshin made no effort to copy anything down; however, Misao was diligently doing her work. 

Our morning classes came and went rapidly. Nothing new happened. Kind of made me wonder how exactly Kenshin would amaze me next. I shrug the thought out of my mind as I finally join Sano and Megumi at our regular lunch table.

"What's up guys?" I casually ask as I take out an apple and start to eat it.

Both Sano and Megumi look at me in the weird way before they speak. _'What was that for?'_

"Did you see what Kenshin did today?" Sano whispered out.

I look at him with what I thought as a confused look. "Huh? What did he do?"

"With Hajime-sensei!"

__

'Ohhhhhhh.' "Yeah, so, what about it?" I try to ask while hiding my curiosity.

"The way he stood up to Hajime-sensei! It's unbelievable. Any other kid would have cracked down instantly. But him, all I can say is………DAMN!"

And of course, Megumi had something else to add also. "And plus how fast he handed in that paper. If he doesn't take notes at all, how in the world did he finish that fast? My guess is that he probably did even write anything worth reading."

I shrug in response to both statements. "Who knows guys? He is just one mysterious book waiting to be opened."

"Yeah, one **evil **book if you ask me. I still say he's evil in his own peculiar way. One glance at this stare and boom! Your scared shitless! I would just hate to see the boy who takes out his sister. You know, she doesn't look half bad."

I give out an exasperated sigh at Sano's try to humor things up, but Megumi jabbed Sano in the ribs. Seriously, I do believe them two have something going on with on another. "C'mon guys. He can't be _that_ bad."

"Then you haven't seen his eyes, Kaoru." Megumi says between mouthfuls. 

Now that I think about it, what Megumi said is true. I still haven't seen Kenshin's face clearly. Even yesterday, it was at a distance. But if Ayami and Suzumi could play with him, then he is definitely not evil. He just can't be. 

__

'Why am I so desperate to convince myself that Kenshin is not evil?'

The sudden thought catches me completely off guard. Now that I truly do think about it, I don't have any logical answer to that question. 

Despite myself, I find myself sneaking a peek at where Kenshin's sits with his sister in the back of the lunch room. Once again, the front bangs of his hair disrupt me from getting a clear vision of his eyes. Misao is once again chattering like there is no tomorrow while Kenshin is quietly sipping his soup. _'Didn't he have the same thing yesterday for lunch?'_

__

"Brrrrrriiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnngggggggg!!!!!"

"What!? The end of lunch already!" I couldn't believe it. "I barely got to eat my food."

At this, Sano snickered for some reason. "Well jou-chan. Maybe if you didn't spend half your time looking at Kenshin, then perhaps you would have finished."

__

'What!? I can't believe he saw me!' Of course, I couldn't think of a smart comeback at the time, so I did the only thing that came to mind, "So? At least I don't get beaten up by people half my size!"

Bingo, it worked. The minute I mentioned him getting beaten up by his brother, he completely collapsed to the ground. 

I saw Megumi smirk. "What? The great Sanosuke Sagara, beaten up by an eleven-year old? I can't believe it!"

"It was only once, Megumi! Plus, I let him."

"Yeah, yeah Sano. Say what you want to say." I got up and congratulated myself for a job well done. I had class to get to.

Yesterday, our physical education teacher was absent, so we had a free study period. Even though I love doing my homework in school, I love gym even more. Usually we get to spar with one another with kendo sticks. Although they're not the same as the wooden swords we use for swordfighting, I still have fun with it.

So here I am, in my gym clothes – traditional training clothes I wear for whenever I'm training. To tell you guys the truth, I love wearing this thing. For some reason, it makes me feel like I'm a female samurai back during the revolution.

"Ok, line up……………NOW!" an arrogant voice spoke from nowhere.

I stick my tongue out towards Toma-sensei while his back was turned. He might be the coach for our Swordfight Team, but he's arrogant as hell, always thinking he's the best at everything and **his** way is the right way. Besides that factor, he's an alright teacher, despite the fact he has never coached a win for our team in his three years here. I doubt this year will be any different. I usually win my matches, but in order for the team to take the victory, we must win three out of the five matches.

I line up anyway and find out that Misao is next to me. She smiles at me and I give her one in return. She is wearing a navy-blue ninja uniform. _'Strange…'_

"Ok………you bunch of kids! Today, I have rented out the kendo sticks for us today, so we'll spend this time sparring. I know you weaklings play around and all, but I want you to take this seriously especially the ones who are thinking of trying out for the Swordfight Team this year, although I'm not coaching it.

"Your not!?" I asked, completely surprised.

Toma-sensei gave me this apologetic look. "No, not this year."

I expected him to say more as to why exactly he was not coaching. He didn't.

"Ok! Enough of that. Let's get down to sparring. First match will be between…………"

I prayed silently to pick me. I desperately wanted to see if my training over the summer paid off."

"Sanosuke Sagara and Kenshin Himura! You two are up!"

I frowned when my name was mentioned but it quickly turned into curiosity. Kenshin versus Sano. This ought to be interesting. 

Sano was the first one to enter the mat. You may think that because Sano is more of a martial-artist type of fighter, he's not that great with a sword. But believe me, he's got some moves that would surprise you. Truthfully, he's actually considered a top five contender in TMH. _'Yeah, right…'_

The class then looked over towards Kenshin, who was not in line first of all. Secondly, he was leaning against the wall, with his head down. Toma-sensei is not going to like this one bit.

"Kenshin Himura! Why are you not participating!?" Toma-sensei's voice clearly sent out signs of anger and annoyance.

A cold, steel-like, apathetic voice answered his question. "I don't use _Kendo_ sticks."

Oh, was Kenshin asking for it. The Kendo sticks were hard to get for gym class. Having them was like a specialty. 

You could actually see the steam coming for Toma-sensei. He was pissed. "Care…to…tell…me…why…not?"

Before Kenshin even had the chance to reply, Misao surprisingly came to his defense. "I'm sorry Toma-sensei, but my brother recently had a hand injury that he's still recovering from."

"Then why didn't he just say so." was the teacher's curt reply. 

Of course, being the stupid idiot like he is most of the time, Sano couldn't keep his big mouth shut. "Oh, come on sensei. You aren't actually going to believe her! Kenshin is just afraid to fight me cuz he knows he'll lose within the first minute. He's a wuss."

Instantly, murmurs started to rise about Kenshin and within seconds, laughter could be heard, no doubt on Kenshin's expense. 

Kenshin………a wuss? That was definitely a new thought to think about. Somehow, Kenshin's cold exterior did not match with the word _wuss._

Kenshin still seemed as calm as ever, as if he never heard the comment to begin with. Misao on the other hand, she was a **totally**different matter.

"Sensei……is it okay if I take on this rooster-headed jerk?" she asked. It didn't take much to deduce that Misao was barely able to hold her anger.

Now this raised a few eyebrows – mainly with the girls and surprisingly, Aoshi as well, who chose to stay in the back. Girls sparring with guys usually did not happen, if at all. And this is also Sano we're talking about. 

I studied Toma-sensei's expression carefully as I saw him arguing with himself. His many facial expressions easily gave it away. 

"I suppose I can let this pass. Ok Miss Himura, you wanted it, you got it."

Misao beamed brightly as she grabbed a kendo stick from the wrack and jumped onto the mat facing Sanosuke. Sanosuke's face was priceless.

"Wha?! Whoa! Sensei – you've got to be kidding! You really can't expect me to fight her! It's no contest."

OOOOhhhhhhhh………I wish I could have punched that rooster-headed idiot right there and then. And the look on Megumi's face also told me she had the same idea. Then again, every girl there had the same expression. 

"Don't tell me you're afraid of a girl?" Misao started teasing Sano. "I guess we all know who the real wuss here is, don't we girls?"

Oh, that was a good one. I couldn't help but laugh heartily along with every other girl there. This was too good to be true.

I expected Sano to be taken aback by what she said, but he just cocked an eyebrow and then smiled. "Nah, that ain't it. I just don't want to get blamed for ruining your makeup!"

This elicited a laugh from the boys, save for Aoshi and Kenshin, who remained as stoic as they always have been. Well, at least Aoshi was watching the fight. Kenshin however, just had his stare towards the floor, and yes, his bangs were once again hiding his _legendary_ eyes from me.

And then it happened- chanting. 

"Go Misao."

"Go Sano."

"Kick her/his ass!"

Toma-sensei tried to calm things down, "Hey! Watch your language!" But it was a no go. The class was way too interested in this, not to mention psyched up as well.

Toma-sensei just shrugged as a grin appeared on his face. "Ok class. First one to three points will be the winner. Ready………………GO!"

I watched, totally engrossed into the battle. Misao instantly got into position. Her kendo stick was in a sheathed position behind her as one of her hands was hovering over the handle. Sano took a more direct approach as he held his sword in front of him with both hands.

"You're going to regret this, missy!"

Sano then charged up to a motionless Misao, who still hadn't made a move besides getting into position. Sano was cutting the distance when he leaped into the air and came charging down, swinging his sword, aimed at Misao's shoulder. 

The next move caught **everybody** with surprise; well……save for Kenshin that is. Misao had somehow dodged Sano's attack and now was in the air above Sano. One second later, she came crashing down onto a stupefied Sano, who still was looking for Misao's whereabouts. 

Sano was on the ground while Misao reentered her position she was in the beginning. 

Everybody was dead silent, including me. That attack wasn't an everyday attack. No, it was more than that. And, well, damn, it was impressive. I could have sworn my jaw was on the floor. Then Toma-sensei's voice came out of nowhere.

"Misao – 1. Sano – 0."

Suddenly there was an uproar of cheers from the girls, who at the same time congratulated Misao and taunted Sano. I had to admit, I was impressed by Misao's abilities. But it wasn't something I couldn't have done myself. I was able to follow Misao's moves right from the start, so that fact alone showed Misao was just as good as me, and maybe even lacking some points here and there.

I watched as Misao completely overwhelmed a dazed Sano two more times to secure victory. In the end, let's just say I now have something else to tease Sano about when he gets on my case. And oh boy, did I have something to tell Yahiko, hehehehehe.

After the "fight," the day went by pretty quickly, which the fight being the topic of discussion in **every** conversation. I even heard Aoshi talk about it with his friends. Now when he talks about it, it's gotta be either impressive or surprising. Misao certainly didn't let it get to her head as she just waved it off as something that needed to be done. Sano on the other hand was getting tortured by his friends.

The last bell had finally rang after an hour of lecturing from our science teacher, Hennya-sensei.

I quickly ran to my locker in hope to dodge the rush of students that would inevitably ensue when I suddenly spotted Misao by her locker, alone. _'Finally, a chance to talk.'_

"Hey Misao. You've probably heard this like a million times, but great fight."

She waved her hand nonchalantly as she smiled brightly. "Hey, it's about time somebody taught that rooster-head a lesson, right?" I smiled and nodded, laughing along with Misao. 

"So Misao, are you thinking about joining the Swordfight Team?" It was a question bugging me ever since the match.

It took her awhile to answer. "Probably not Kaoru. I'm more of a martial-artist fighter rather than kenjutsu. I just happened to watch my brother train every now and then and I picked up on some moves here and there."

I stood there, once again shocked. If Misao was this good, and she just _watched_ her brother, then what did that make Kenshin? And if he supposedly was so good, why did he back out? Ahhh, more mysterious about the redhead.

I nodded again. "Well, you should come to tomorrow clubfest anyway."

She looked expectantly at me. "Clubfest? What's that?"

__

'Oh right. She doesn't know.' "Well basically, on the third day of school every year, the school holds something called clubfest after school. It's where all the clubs and school teams gather and explain themselves to curious students. It's really fun, and you never know, you just might find something to suit your style."

Misao's eyes suddenly took on an abnormal shine. "Wow! Count me in Kaoru. You'll see me there tomorrow." I smiled at her enthusiasm. She was certainly a very active girl. 

I thought she was going to leave, but then she winked at me. "And don't worry. I'll bring Kenshin also."

Wha?! Kenshin!? What about Kenshin!? Ahhh, I could feel myself blushing red. Probably a very, very deep shade as well. 

Luckily for me, Misao was about to add something to her comment when Sano popped from nowhere. I never have been so glad in my life to see Sano.

"Hey Sano, what's up?" I asked quickly, trying to change the subject as quickly as possible.

"Huh? Oh, hey jou-chan, Misao." 

I quickly dropped my façade. Whatever Sano had to say was pretty important. He wasn't chewing on a fishbone!

"I, uh, just came here to apologize. You know, about what I said about earlier. Especially to you Misao."

I smiled warmly and saw Misao answer in the same way. "Don't worry 'bout it Sano. Just next time, I don't want you holding back on me. I could tell you weren't at your best." 

Misao was right. Now that I think about it, Sano did go down pretty easily. 

"Heh, yeah, whatever you say. Well, I'm outta here." And yes, almost like magic, Sano started to chew on his trademark fishbone that he kept in his pocket. "Later jou-chan, weasel girl."

I rolled my eyes at Sano's _creative_ nicknames. Misao on the other hand, looked like she was about to blow. 

"He didn't………just call me………weasel girl……did he?"

I sweat dropped. Do I answer her question, or not?

"Hey Misao. Let's go."

I quickly whipped my head from where I heard the voice. Yes, my intuition was right. It was Kenshin. 

"Coming Kenshin!" his sister yelled back. "Well Kaoru, I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Bye!"

She then skipped over to her brother as they started walking home, and once again, Misao chatting happily while Kenshin looking as stoic as ever. 

I didn't even know I was smiling until Megumi had suddenly come and asked me what I was smiling about. Not even knowing the answer to the question myself, I just shrugged as we walked home. 

Once again, today was full of surprises. 

****

Author's Notes: Hey, Misao had to learn something watching Kenshin after so many years, right? After all, in the show, Yahiko almost got the Ryu Sou Sen down only watching Kenshin perform it for some months. 

Anyway, so there is chapter four. Again, it was a _small preview_ of what the "Himuras" are bringing into the lives of Aoshi, Kaoru, Sano and Megumi. 

I got a couple of people saying they wanted Tsubame in as well. Don't worry, I have plans for her (and Yahiko as well) later in my story.

People also wanted more Soujiro. And relax about that because Soujiro **will** appear, but probably not until towards the end of my story (and I don't know when that will be so don't bother asking).

Again, I **love** the reviews that are coming in. More reviews is a good thing! Longer chapters might just come your way.

So I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as my previous three and as always, **leave a REVIEW!** Thanx!!!!!

Till next chapter,  
vindemon64


	5. Clubfest

****

Disclaimer: I regret to inform all of you that I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or its characters, although I do own any created characters that my imagination comes up with.

**********************

Chapter 5 – Clubfest

**********************

Author's Notes: This chapter will be in Misao's point of view.

****

"Kenshin! I'm sooooo confused on how to do this math homework. Can't you teach me?" For real, I've had enough of this. For over two hours, I've been staring at these questions, trying to decipher their meaning as to exactly what they wanted me to do. But alas, after all my hard work, nothing productive came from me. Then again, I was watching some television for the most of those two hours. But Kenshin didn't have to know that _small_ fact.

"Well Misao, maybe if you weren't spending most of your time watching television, perhaps you could have finished it by now." was Kenshin's ever-so clever reply.

I pouted. Man, he _knows_ **everything** that's going on. I guess that shouldn't be a surprise, knowing that his training with his shishou helps him to be aware of everything.

"Plus Misao, if you actually took a glance at your notes, it'll probably be in there. Kanryu-sensei **did** go over how to do the problems in class." 

I rolled my eyes. "Kenshin, I think I know what type of notes I take and I know – one hundred percent – that he did NOT go over these problems!"

"Just take a look, that you should." And with that, he stepped into the kitchen; Kami knew what he was going to do. 

I stuck my tongue at him once I knew he was out of sight and resolved into digging up my notes. Seriously, I think I know what notes I………………….

Ahhhh! Yep, you guessed it.

There it was. The types of problems I was having difficulty with right there, explained step by step on how to do them. I wanted to scream in frustration. Once again, Kenshin was right about things. Man, things aren't going my way.

Anyway, once my anger was gone, I proceeded to do the problems when Kenshin popped out of nowhere.

"Hey Misao, what's for dinner?"

"Can't you see I'm doing homework………KENSHIN! Jeez, I can't do everything around here." Kenshin just knew how to piss me off. 

And to top things of, he was……chuckling! Laughing……at me! AH! That wool-headed baka! Ohhhh…I wanted to pounce on him soo badly.

"Sorry Misao. I guess I have been relying upon you too much lately." The apology he gave me wasn't going to fix things now. It was already way too late for him. He's going to be a dead man.

But then he gave me that smile – the smile that I love seeing upon his face. I stood there, totally shocked. That last time I saw him smile like that had to have been years ago. It wasn't one of those fake smiles, to cover up his feelings. It was a true, genuine smile, as if he was enjoying himself for once. In return, I smiled warmly at him and laughed along with him. 

"Hey, I got an idea Misao. Why don't we order from that restaurant again? Their food tasted good."

I sulked instantly. "Wha?! Does that mean you don't like the food I prepare for you, Kennie!?" I had to struggle to the fullest not to laugh. The look on his face when I said that was priceless. He was truly worried.

"No no! Don't get me wrong Misao. I love you cooking, it's just….well……I…uh……"

I couldn't hold it back any longer. I broke down into giggles, leaving my redheaded brother totally confused. Man that was soo funny, I just couldn't help myself.

When I finally came to senses, Kenshin was still utterly confused, but didn't say anything. I could tell it by his facial expression.

"Relax Kenshin, I know what you mean. I still love you all the same." And to prove my point, I hugged him. Really! Sometimes when I do hug him, all my worries go away and I'm totally relaxed. 

"Well, what are we waiting for, let's order!"

Kenshin nodded as he tossed me the cordless telephone. "Well, since you already ordered from them before, it wouldn't do you any harm to order again – the same thing as yesterday too."

"Yeah, yeah Kenshin, I got it." I quickly dug up the number of the Akabeko I wrote down the other day and ordered what we had yesterday. 

Man, I have to give it to the Akabeko – they have good timing. Almost the instant I finished with my homework, the doorbell rang and some voice called out _'Akabeko.'_ I smiled at my finished homework, admiring my hard work that I put into it.

"Misao, can you get it? I'm kind of busy in the kitchen!"

I frowned thoughtfully at my red-headed brother. He's been in the kitchen for over an hour now. What exactly was he doing? Oh well.

I opened the door and instantly, my jaw dropped to the floor. 

It was the same annoying little brat from yesterday.

I saw him smirk as he held the bag of food to me. "Hey busu! Twice in a row? Well, I suppose I can understand. I mean, ugly hags usually cannot cook, but whatever. Can I have my money?"

It took **everything** within me to hold my anger and not to unleash every kunai I had in my possession at the little brat, emphasis on the little. I dug up the _exact_ change that the food had cost and roughly shoved it towards him.

"Thank you for the food. I guess I'll see you later now, Yahiko-chan!" And I slammed the door shut right in his face. _'Hehehehe.'_

I heard him shout something about not calling him "-chan," but I was too busy taking in the wonderful aroma of the food to spend my attention for him. 

"Kenshin! Food's here!"

"Ok Misao. Just give me a minute to finish cleaning the kitchen and then I'll join you, that I will."

__

'Cleaning……the kitchen?' Now I knew something was amiss. "What **exactly **are you doing in the kitchen, Kenshin Himura? That last time you cleaned the kitchen without me asking was like four years ago!"

I could actually feel him wince. Yep, something was up with him. "Kenshin, I'm coming in there, whether you like it or not. Cuz I **know** your doing something that you shouldn't be doing."

Knowing I had little time, I quickly ran into the kitchen, only to find my brother washing a knife in the sink. He casually turned around and innocently looked at me with those beautiful violet eyes of his. "Is there something the matter Misao?" 

"I……uh……" I was speechless. Here I was standing in the kitchen, expecting at least some kind of mess. But the place was squeaky clean. Accidentally, I sniffed the air and found a wonderful aroma of food invade my senses. "Kenshin, what is that delicious smell?"

"Nothing!" came his reply, very quickly if I may add. "Actually, now that I think about it, it must be the Akabeko food. C'mon Misao, I can't wait to eat! Smells delectable."

He then grabbed the bag of food from my hands and went into our miniature dining room. I knew what I smelt, and it definitely was not the same smell as the Akabeko food. Hearing my stomach grumbling, I shrugged the question out of my mind and went to join Kenshin, only to find out he had already set everything up. _'Damn, that was fast.'_

We began eating in silence as I savored every bite. This food sure was delicious. One of these days, I would have to somehow beg Kenshin into going to the restaurant to eat rather than ordering delivery.

It wasn't till towards the end of our meal when a sudden memory popped into my mind. Kaoru had said that there was…….what was it called? Clubfest. Yeah, that's it. 

"Hey Kenshin, are you going to be doing anything after school tomorrow?" I asked casually as I ate, trying not to let on anything suspicious to my perceptive brother.

He stared at me for some time – how long, I really didn't know. I could actually feel myself sweat. What in the world was he thinking?

Finally, what seemed like hours, he answered, "Yes Misao, I'll come to the clubfest with you."

You see, if this exact situation happened five or six years ago, I would have been shocked at how he could read my mind. But by now, I knew he could read eyes and body emotions acutely. 

I smiled anyway at him. "Thanx Kenshin, you don't know how much this means to me."

Kenshin just simply waved his hand as he finished his meal. "Just don't expect me to join anything, that you shouldn't."

I nodded, but inwardly smiled. _'If I get my way tomorrow, Kenshin will be joining everything that I want him to join. Hehehehe.'_

Luckily for me, or perhaps luckily for all the students in my class, our classes actually went by pretty quickly and uneventfully also. Hajime-sensei's class surprisingly went by without any disturbances from my brother, who still doesn't lift a finger to take notes. Lunch was just as boring as usual. Talking to Kenshin is like talking to a wall – at least when we're at school. For whatever strange reason, my brother likes to revert to his "cold" self when we're at school, rather than his open, cheery persona that he reveals at home. Don't ask me why. Surprisingly, the phys-ed teacher – Toma-sensei – was absent again. That's makes two out of three days. Normally I wouldn't care, but something about him just seems _off_ if you ask me. Who knows? Maybe he's sick every other day or something. So we just had a free study period then.

And here I am, staring at the clock, while our science teacher – Hennya-sensei – is boringly explaining some scientific phenomenon that I could certainly care less for. 

I swear, when you're desperately waiting for time to fly by, it plays with you and suddenly it seems as if time is going slower than usual. Really, it feels like I've been waiting over an hour just to see that seconds hand go around once. 

__

"Brrrrrriiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnngggggggg!!!!!"

__

'Finally!' Almost instantly, the whole class dashed out of their seats and jetted out the door. I stupidly gazed at them. Man, this clubfest thing must be more exciting than I thought. 

The only ones left were Kenshin, Aoshi, Kaoru and me. Kaoru and Aoshi were talking to each other in low voice, so I couldn't hear anything they were saying. But then again, who cares what they were talking about. At least I get to stare at Aoshi. Did I mention how **hot** he is? Well, he's very good looking. 

  
As I was walking over to Kenshin, who was taking his time putting his stuff away, which seemed odd cuz he usually doesn't have anything out to begin with, Hajime-sensei suddenly popped through the door.

"Shinomori, Himura! A word with you two……now."

I was thinking he meant me, but the stare he gave to Kenshin meant the "Himura" was for him. Kenshin nodded at me, basically telling me to wait a moment. I smiled as I nodded back and headed out the door, following Kaoru.

Hajime-sensei banged the door shut the second I walked out of the room. Jeez! The nerve of him!

"So what do you think Saitoh wants with them?" a voice suddenly asked me from nowhere.

I turned around to find Kaoru fixing the ribbon in her midnight blue hair. I took this minute to finally get a good look at her. She was indeed a beautiful woman. Her midnight blue hair went gorgeously with her blue eyes and her body stature was nice too. Well, at least now I know that Kenshin has good taste. Hehehe.

"Hello? Misao? You there?"

"Huh? Wha? Oh, sorry Kaoru. I was just……um……thinking clubfest and all." I lied through my teeth. Lying is definitely not one of my strong points. "What was the question again?"

I saw her roll her eyes and sigh. "What do you think Saitoh wants with Aoshi and Kenshin?"

I shrugged at her question. "I don't know about Aoshi, but with my baka brother, it could be anything." I giggled at the thought of Kenshin cowering in fear from Hajime-sensei. Then again, that probably would happen when pigs learned how to fly.

I heard Kaoru giggle for a couple of seconds before she stopped and shrugged as well. "You and Kenshin coming to clubfest?"

"Yep! Can't wait! I hope its fun." I truly was looking forward to this thing. Everyone was saying how cool it is to check out all the clubs and school teams.

"That's cool." 

From then on, we spent the next couple of minutes in silence. I really didn't know what else to say, and Kaoru was probably the same. 

The door finally opened and I gasped softly as Aoshi walked out first. And even to my greater surprise, he actually spared a second or two to glance in my direction before heading of down the hall. If Kaoru wasn't there at that moment, I would have fainted on the spot. His stare……his eyes……_wow!_

"Well, there goes my cousin. I'll see you in the gym, kay?"

"Yep! Bye Kaoru."

I watched her as she followed Aoshi. Actually, I watched Aoshi in the distance. Ah, I can't get enough of that guy. I wonder how it would feel to have him actually hug me…or even better…….kiss me! Oooooh! That would be heaven!

I was interrupted from my beautiful daydream by a tap on the shoulder. It was Kenshin.

"So Kennie! What did Hajime-sensei want?"

Even though I wasn't looking at him, I could actually feel Kenshin's penetrating stare at me with his now **amber yellow **eyes as I called him _Kennie_. I remember back when, that stare used to scare the living daylights out of me. Now, I'm basically used to it. 

"Well Kenshin, are you going to tell me or not?" For some reason, I had to fight the urge to giggle, although I do not know why.

"Saitoh wants me to join the Swordfight Team, as per my _punishment_." 

"Ohhhhh……" I trailed off slowly as I thought about the situation. Actually, this situation was very familiar. It happened many times. Kenshin would have to join the school's swordfight team or else the teacher would report whatever wrong Kenshin had done. That was a famous way of how we usually got expelled from select schools.

I directed my gaze towards the floor. It's not that I cared about Kenshin's decision. I would stand by whatever decision he would make. If he didn't want to join, then we would probably……eventually get expelled. But this was one of the few schools I actually took a liking to.

"Well, I suppose we should pack everything at home, right?" I asked glumly as I felt a tear escape my eye.

"What are you talking about Misao?" I heard my clueless brother ask, roughly if I may add too.

"You're not going to join……which means we'll probably get expelled and have to transfer again."

"Who the hell said I wasn't going to join?" 

At this, I rapidly tore my solemn gaze from the floor to my brother. "You mean…….that you'll………"

I heard Kenshin sigh. "Yeah, I'm joining. Plus, if I did get expelled, shishou would probably have my head, huh?"

I nodded happily as I hugged my brother briefly before letting go. He really doesn't like people seeing him all compassionate and stuff. "Thank you sooo much Kenshin!"

I watched him as he growled, quickly reverting back to his cold-attitude self he puts on. "So, do you want to go to this clubfest thing or not? I have better things to do."

"Of course!"

What I didn't know at the time was that Kenshin actually had another reason of why he was joining the Swordfight Team. A more……_personal_ reason.

"Wooooooooooowwwww!" The gym looked like a totally different place that it used to be. Numerous of booths were lined up and erected one after another, with a different club in each booth. Every kid in the school had to be there. There was barely enough room to move around. 

I heard Kenshin grumble something under his breath, but I paid no attention to it. I didn't care what he thought about it. All I knew was that I was going to have fun, join some clubs, and if I get lucky, get Kenshin to join his fair share of clubs too.

"C'mon Kenshin, let's go!"

Again, Kenshin muttered something under his breath. I couldn't get a clear look into his eyes because the bangs of his hair were hiding it. But believe me, just because I, or anyone for that matter, can't see his eyes, doesn't mean Kenshin can't see. He's aware alright, aware of almost everything.

Anyway, I had to practically drag my brother around. Yeah, I know. It would have been easier to go alone, but where's the fun in that? Plus, I wanted Kenshin there, just for the sake of knowing he's there………protecting me I suppose.

"Hey Kenshin, let's stop at that booth. Looks like the computer club!"

We joined in just in time for some speech.

"Are you computer illiterate? Are you having trouble operating your computer? Or do you just want to have fun with them? This club has it all – help, games, food and online interaction with people all over the world. Membership is at an all-time low at the moment, but with your help, we can really get this club started."

I nodded thoughtfully at what this guy was saying. Sounded fun. I looked around to see what other kids were interested. My jaw dropped as I looked around, and to top things of, I heard Kenshin snickering – probably at me. 

All male geeks!

I quickly grabbed Kenshin and ran away from the booth as fast as possible. "Idiot! Why didn't you tell me!?" 

Once again, my baka brother snickered. "I wanted to see your reaction. And from what I saw, it was all worth it."

I gave him a quick death glare as I diverted my attention elsewhere. There was no way I was going to let Kenshin ruin this for me. 

I dragged him around to booth after booth. Some clubs were ok – like the environmental club and the speech and debate club. Others, well, let's just say they were as bad as the computer club – attracting crowds that I rather would not hang out with.

I think we spent an hour in there when some students began to leave, which obviously meant that clubfest was soon coming to an end. "Kenshin! I still haven't found a club I like!"

He chose not to reply to my comment so I ignored him as well. Two can play at that game. I was about to give up hope when I spotted Kaoru walking off towards somewhere. Wanting to say hi, I tried to follow her without bumping into other people.

When I did finally catch up to her, she was at a booth. Curious as to which booth had her attention; I walked up to her and grabbed a flyer that a nearby student was handing out.

__

"Drama Club. 

Free your heart and let your imagination run wild as you perform in numerous plays. 

This year's main play will revolve around the legendary swordsman that was **believed **to have lived during the revolution. It will concentrate on his life roughly ten years after the revolution, from facts we were able to obtain from history books, old documents dated back to the years of the revolution, and stories that the myths foretell about the legendary manslayer. 

Sign up today to be part of the fun!"

__

'Wow, this is so very cool!' I thought to myself as I read. 

"Yeah, you said it Misao. Are you going to join?"

I looked towards the direction of the voice and found it to be Kaoru's. "Oh, hey Kaoru. I didn't know I said that out loud. As for joining, I don't know. Are you going to join?"

I saw her nod. "Yep, you bet. I've been in this club for the past two years, and believe me, its fun. Plus, after all the hard work, the finished products are usually really great. You should join."

Once again, I nodded thoughtfully and thought about it. "Who else joins?"

Kaoru chuckleed as she pointed over to a small group of guys. "Believe it or not, Aoshi and his friends are actually joining this year. I don't know why, but Aoshi gives the excuse of saying it's a good way to learn about the legendary swordsmen and his sword techniques."

I smiled brightly as I listened to what Kaoru was saying. Aoshi, joining? Wow, never would have thought it would happen in a million years. Maybe I could pair up to be Aoshi's partner. WOW! Now that's a thought.

"Count me in, Kaoru!"

I quickly scribbled my name on the sign-in sheet and quickly took note that meetings were held every Thursday. I kept that in mind as I turned around, only to come face to face with Aoshi. _'When did he come here!?'_

I found myself paralyzed. Seriously, I couldn't feel anything in my body, or move for that matter also. My mind was only concentrated on two thoughts – Aoshi and damn was he hot!

"Hello Misao."

"Hi……ya." I managed to say without making a fool out of myself.

"Your joining the drama club as well, I ascertain?" 

__

'Ascertain? Wow, he's even smart!' I nodded meekly when strangely, newfound courage seeped throughout my body. I mean, he was only another kid – just a really hot kid though. "Yep, I can't wait. It's going to be so cool acting out characters from the revolution. Really, I can't wait."

I peeked up to him to see him nod. I smiled inwardly. At least I was doing something right, even if I had no clue what. 

After the last comment, we stood there in uncomfortable (at least for me) silence for a minute when I remembered as certain event. "Aoshi, I'm still holding you to that rain-check for Wednesday, in case you think I would have forgotten!" I smiled brightly as him as I saw his nervous expression. Yep, he probably thought I had completely forgotten. Yeah, in his dreams. 

"Nope, haven't forgotten yet Misao."

I nodded slowly, trying to prolong my time with him when one of his friends came by. 

"Hey Leader, we're going to the dojo now. Are you coming?"

__

'Leader? Why'd they call Aoshi that? There must be more to this group Kaoru was telling me about than meets the eye. A group I wand to know everything about. I scrutinized Aoshi's friend carefully. He was a huge fellow – could have passed for a sumo wrestler if he wanted to.

"Ok Hyottoko. I'm coming." Aoshi waved to his friend as the huge guy wobbled off to somewhere. Aoshi than returned his gaze towards me, and again, strangely, this time I didn't feel restrained. "Well Misao, I'll see you later than."

"Yep, bye Aoshi!" I waved to him as he walked to where his friend left moments ago. Wow, now that I reviewed that conversation in my head, things had definitely gone well. I congratulated myself for a job well done. 

  
But something was missing. 

It didn't hit me for a full minute. Kenshin!

Oh my god. What did he think about the situation? Would he like Aoshi? Hate him? Ah!!!

I quickly turned around, expecting him to be deathly gazing at me with his amber yellow eyes. 

But the weird thing was – he wasn't. He wasn't even behind me.

Where the hell did he go?

I didn't have to walk far to find my brother. It was exactly five steps when I saw him, and when I did see him, I stood in shock. 

There he was, my red-headed baka brother, actually _talking_ to Kaoru – the person of his affections. Now you see, this is something that has **never **happened before. Never in any previous schools had Kenshin actually said _hello_ to another student, let alone talk to them. And from what I saw, Kenshin seemed totally calm and open – something that did not happen very often. 

  
I stood my ground as I watched Kenshin scribble something on a piece of paper Kaoru was holding. Now that I actually looked at Kaoru, wow, was she blushing a deep red. One could see it from fifty feet away. 

  
I smiled. This was already getting interesting.

They continued to talk for what seemed like forever when Kaoru suddenly looked at her watch and ran off, leaving my brother waving at her in a daze.

Now it was time to find out exactly what that was all about.

"Kenshin!"

No answer. Wow, he really must be in a daze.

"KENSHIN!"

"Huh, wha?" Kenshin had finally came back to his senses. "Yeah Misao?"

I gasped. Kenshin wasn't showing off his cold-like exterior, but the emotions he usually shows off at home, when he's with me. Wow, Kaoru had some affect on him.

"What was that all about?"

"What was what about?" he asked innocently as he continued to gaze after Kaoru.

"You and Kaoru! Come on! Spill the beans!"

Kenshin smirked. He actually smirked, and to me! Argh! Ooo, how I wanted to pounce on him and beat him into submission, forcing him to tell me everything. "Nothing that concerns you. Now that you're done here, let's go home."

I stood my ground as I watched Kenshin walk away. "Kenshin! This is NOT fair! C'mon, you can tell me! And Kenshin! What did you write on the paper Kaoru was holding?! Kenshin!!! Are you even listening to me!!!?? KENSHIN!!!!!!"

Ugh! My stupid, lovable brother. 

****

Author's Notes: Once again, let me thank my regular reviewers so far who have given me the reason and inspiration to keep on writing. I thank all of you greatly:

Kimiko5, blackshadow, BillabongBob3, Misao Mei Mei, kenshin fan, flyinangel777, Lingoddess, dark hope1, missaw, mayabf93, moomoo-chan, merlegirl, chocolatetiger23, jus_som1, Setine, Jen, larisa, Califpinay3001, Linwe, Ayuka, Namiko the anime wizard, Freesia, Selena Rose, Jewel210, irksome one, lil-miss-kitsune, Karen, CurlsofSerenity, Ame Kurayami, AnImEfReAk34, Janee

**__**

Sorry if I forgot anyone. I'll be sure to add you guys next chapter then.

Anyway, well here is chapter 5 and I hoped you guys like it. I know there wasn't too much fluff put into this chapter, but I hope the length of this chapter made up for that - was about 4300 words. 

As for my next update, I start college next Friday, so I will **try** **my best** to get an update before that. Because after that, I don't know when I'll be able to update next. But rest assured, this fic will not die.

Again, thank you SOOO much for the reviews, and I do hope to see more of them. So **LEAVE A REVIEW! ^_^**

Till next chapter,  
vindemon64


	6. Quality Time

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Disclaimer: I regret to inform all of you that I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or its characters, although I do own any created characters that my imagination comes up with.

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Chapter 6 – Quality Time

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Author's Notes: This chapter is told in Kaoru's point of view.

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"Kaoru! Wake up! It's already noon!"

"Yumm….hmm………yeah, yeah." I mumbled in my sleep. 

That's what I love about weekends; you can sleep as long as you want to. No waking up six-o-clock in the morning, but instead, twelve, midday. It's beautiful.

"Kaoru! I'm not going to repeat myself. Wake up, NOW!"

At this call, I jolted straight up. "O-KAY Aoshi, I'm up." Jeez, leave it up to him to ruin a perfectly comfortable sleep. Well, I suppose Aoshi would never know the true meaning of weekends. He still wakes up at the crack of dawn, doing Kami knows what. I never understood how he could get enough sleep when he goes to sleep at midnight. I mean, what? That leaves only about five to six hours of sleep for him. And to think, the average teenager needs _at least_ eight to nine hours. Eh, whatever. There are some things I'll never learn about Aoshi.

Anyway, I stay in my bed, lying there awake, just thinking about random ideas and thoughts when suddenly a peculiar event from yesterday rushes to the front of my mind.

Yeah, you guessed it too. It involved Kenshin.

Jeez, nowadays, it seems like everything interesting that does happen to me involves the mysterious red-head. Not that I care though, heheh.

It was during clubfest. One minute I was talking to Misao when she suddenly ran off somewhere, and if my eyes weren't playing tricks on me, it was to Aoshi. Wow, now that I do think about it, that's pretty strange. Aoshi………Misao………oddly enough, they seemed to compliment each other pretty well. 

Anyway, enough about Aoshi. As I said before, one minute I was talking to Misao, then next minute, I'm staring right into (and yes, its true!) the eyes of Kenshin Himura.

Now let me tell you that from all the gossip I was hearing around school, and especially from Sano and Megumi, I was thinking that Kenshin's eyes would probably show some sort of anger, _evil_ type of emotion.

But, wow! Never in a million years would I have imagined that Kenshin's eyes would be the **most **beautiful shade of violet I have **ever** seen in my **entire** life! And instead of the anger they were supposed to show, you could only see compassion from them. Seriously, now that I think about it, I probably stood there for a full minute or two just staring into his eyes. A girl could easily drown gazing into a pair of orbs like Kenshin's. It's just……wow.

Why in the world does everyone else, well, save for Misao and Aoshi, talk about Kenshin's eyes as being a dangerous hint of amber yellow? I know what I saw yesterday, and it was definitely violet! I remember telling Megumi last night about his eyes, and she just thought I was imagining things or I was sick or something.

I think I know what I saw, and I did see violet.

Well, enough about his gorgeous eyes, although one could probably go on talking about them. 

Wait a second here. _'Why in the world am I talking about Kenshin like I'm in love with him, or have some kind of crush?'_

………………. ………. ………… ……..

….. ……………… ………… ………………. ……………

…… ….. ……. ……………… ….. ……………..

"Kaoru, are you getting up or what!?"

__

'Mou! Just when I was about to formulate some kind of answer to my problems, well, sort of.' "CO-MING Aoshi."

I grudgingly get up and enter the bathroom, putting some toothpaste on my toothbrush when I look into the mirror, and let out a small gasp. My cheeks have a faint red to them. I was………blushing!? Kami!, this is not happening. 

Not wanting to believe my inner thoughts, I quickly brush my teeth so I can avoid looking at myself for some time. 

Ah, yes, now comes the good part – a nice, long twenty-minute hot bath to relax myself, relieve stress, and maybe to get some sleep in too, hehe.

Still feeling a bit exhausted, I enter the kitchen, yawning and sit down at the table, where Aoshi is already eating.

"So, what's for breakfast Aoshi?" I casually ask while trying to slap myself awake.

"You mean lunch."

"Huh? Yeah, whatever. I mean, what is there to eat around here?" And to prove my point about how hungry I am, my stomach grumbles at the thought of food.

Like usual, Aoshi rolled his eyes at me. "There's nothing, unless you want some fruit. You're either going to have to go out and eat or cook something for yourself."

"What!?" Now, regularly, I wouldn't mind going out to eat nor cooking, but there are two important facts though. One – I'm totally broke; and two – I can't cook even if my life depended on it. I mean, just this past summer, I actually tried to cook a meal for Aoshi and his dad one night because they were both out late for their own personal reasons, and yeah, let's just say in the end, we had to order take out. Partially because the food was overcooked, and partially because it just tasted downright awful.

Anyway, I grabbed my purse, which was conveniently right next to me (I guess I must have left it on the table last night) and double-checked to see if I had any yen left to spend. If I did, you would probably see me at the Akabeko in the next five minutes.

However, truth hurts – I was indeed, broke. "Hey Aoshi, mind if I borrow some money from you?" I pleaded. I was really hungry. 

Aoshi just snorted as he went to the sink to wash his plate. "You already owe me more yen that you can count Kaoru. Sorry, not this time."

"But Aoshiiii! I'm starving!"

He then tossed me an apple. "Then eat this. Anyway, I'm won't be home till late tonight, so don't bother cooking…….rather ordering anything for me, got it?"

I stuck my tongue out at my cousin. "I too can cook Aoshi!" Of course, I would never admit the truth to him, or to anyone for that matter.

He rolled his eyes at me, but didn't say anything back. He was halfway out the door, when he suddenly turned around, "Oh yeah, before I forget, Dr. Genzai called this morning asking if you could baby-sit his grandchildren around one in the afternoon today. I said _yes_ for you because I know you're in need of the money." And with that, he was gone.

Mou! And here I wanted to get in some training today to practice for the Swordfight Team tryouts next week. Then again, I am the captain of the team, so I suppose I'm already a shoe-in for the team. 

I grinned as I checked the time: five minutes before one. Perfect, that gave me enough time to……………..

WHAT!? Five minutes before one! Ahhhh……….I'm going to be late! Aoshi no baka! I'm going to kill him the next time I see him!!!!

For your information, I was only two minutes late to Dr. Genzai's apartment. Usually, I could reach his house, walking, in fifteen minutes. Obviously, this time, I was running my heart out. So, yeah, I showed Aoshi who was the boss around here. Kaoru Kamiya. 

I rang the doorbell, breathing heavily when suddenly two little girls ambushed me with a hug. Needless to say, I fell to the ground with both Ayami and Suzume on top of me. Normally, I would have been pretty angry with them for doing that to me, but for some reason, I laughed along with them. I guess I just needed to release my anger in some other form – through laughter. Yeah, I know that sounds kind of odd, but it's true, it did happen, because I felt great after.

"I'm sorry I'm kind of late Dr. Genzai."

Of course, Dr. Genzai was a kind old man, and a really good doctor too. "It's ok Kaoru. I should be the one saying I'm sorry, bothering you on a weekend like this, but there's an emergency that I must attend to immediately. A woman is giving birth and I need to be there to……well……you know." 

I nodded, telling him I knew what he meant. I suppose he had trouble saying it in front of his grandchildren. Who knows?

"I was going to leave them with the neighbors, but I've been relying upon them a little too much lately, and I wanted to give them a break, so I really hope you don't mind."

I shook my head. "No, its okay Dr. Genzai. No problem with me." Really, I loved taking care of both Ayami and Suzume. And plus, I needed the money, eheheh.

The elderly man smiled before going about his business. "Anyway Kaoru, both of them already ate their lunch so they are probably pretty energized at the moment. But I'm sure their favorite cartoon shows are coming on right now, so that should occupy them for at least an hour or so. After that, you may take them out to the park if you like. I'll be back around seven or eight." He then quickly grabbed his things and was about to leave when he added something else to his list. "Oh yeah, if they do become too troublesome, you can also take them next door for some time, just not too long. They love playing with our neighbors."

I nodded. "Okay Dr. Genzai, I'll keep that in mind." And with that, he left.

I turned towards the girls who were looking at me expectantly. Usually, I would play with them, but at the moment, I was still kind of hungry. "So girls, what do you want to do first today?" I asked cheerfully, trying to hide the fact that I was still hungry. 

"We wanna watch cartoons!" Ayami replied.

"Yeah, we wanna watch cartoons!" her little sister replied with the same precious voice.

I smiled as I turned on the television for them. Both of them sat on the sofa and instantly were absorbed into the show. _'Wow, this show must be really popular among the kids.'_ I silently thought. I was able to catch the theme of the show before I went into the kitchen to find something to eat…….something about a wandering samurai or something of the sort. I dunno. 

I would have to remember to thank Dr. Genzai for giving me permission to eat his food whenever I was hungry…………again. I do that a lot. Wake up late, have nothing at home to eat, then come over to Dr. Genzai's house and grab something to eat. Yeah, kind of a strange ritual, but hey, it works.

True to their grandfather's word, both Ayami and Suzume lasted **exactly** one hour before they were growing restless. Jeez, he must know his grandchildren really well.

"Auntie Kaoru, we wanna play!" Ayami cheered as she started to clap her hands.

"Yeah Auntie Kaoru, we wanna play." her younger sister mimicked.

I smiled at both of them. I had just finished eating and was pretty full. I knew I couldn't do anything to vivacious or I would have an upset stomach by the end of the day. And plus, I was still kind of exhausted from the early _marathon_ I had. I quickly went over what Dr. Genzai had told me. 

  
Well, going to the park was out of the question. Then that would leave the neighbors. I suppose I could go over to the neighbor's apartment to see what they are like and let the girls play over there, with their children, for some time.

"Hey, you girls want to go over to your neighbor's house?" 

For some reason, at this question, their eyes seemed to light up instantly and glow with an unusual brightness. "Yay! Let's play with Uncle Kennie!"

"Yeah, Uncle Kennie!" Suzume once again mimicked her older sister.

__

'Uncle Kennie? I guess he must be an adult. Oh well, at least he'll keep them company for an hour or a half.' "Ok, get your sandals on girls and we'll go down the hall."

I wasn't even finished putting on one of my sandals when both Ayami and Suzume came running over to me exclaiming that they were done. Wow, this uncle must be some person special. I shrugged and finished putting on my footwear. Taking the keys to the apartment, I locked the door as I led the young girls down the hall to their neighbors.

"I wanna knock!"

"No, I wanna knock!"

I rolled my eyes at the girls' dilemma. "Why don't you both knock?" I offered.

Once again, energy radiated from the little girls as they nodded vigorously and started knocking on the door (loudly if I may add, too). 

I wasn't really paying attention at first when the door opened a minute later because something outside caught my attention. I thought I saw a familiar red-head walking to the park, but it probably was my imagination. But when I heard a familiar feminine greeting, I quickly turned my attention to the person who answered the door.

"Misao?"

"Huh? Kaoru? Wow, what a surprise! What are you doing here?"

After the initial shock of seeing her here had left me, Misao's question entered my brain. "Oh, well, I'm looking after Dr. Genzai's granddaughters for the day. At the moment, they, well, are very energetic and were exclaiming how they wanted to play with an "Uncle Kennie………………"

Oh my god. Uncle Kennie! Why didn't I notice it before? They must have been referring to Kenshin! Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god!

While wracking myself with the sudden problem I was going to inevitably face, I saw Misao give me a strange look when it suddenly turned into a grin, and not just any grin. It was like one of those grins that Megumi has when she has something in mind………that usually involves me. 

"Well, do you girls want to come in or are you going to stand around outside all day?" 

"Sure, why not?" I commented towards Misao as I took off my sandals along with Ayami and Suzume and entered her apartment. 

  
At first glance, the place looks pretty similar to the one Dr. Genzai owns down the hall, but there are major differences. Firstly, the walls have a different coat of paint – a light blue in Misao's house contrasting the plain white Dr. Genzai has. Secondly, and a no-brainer of course, is that there is different furniture and arranged differently as well. There are a few paintings hanging on the walls, but oddly enough, there was only **one** real picture, which was plastered at the center of the room above the television. It was a picture of Misao and Kenshin, around eleven years of age or so, at the beach. Kenshin has sand on his face and hair while Misao is laughing. Unknowingly, I stare more closely at Kenshin than at any other aspect of the picture and find him amazingly cute for at that age. 

"Kaoru, you want anything to eat or drink?"

Misao's question quickly shakes me out of my reverie. Yeah, I'm probably blushing a light red right now so I turn my face the other way so Misao couldn't see me. "No, I'm fine Misao. Thanks for asking though"

She just shrugs. "How about you Ayami and Suzume?"

"No, we're full. Is Uncle Kennie here, Auntie Misao?"

"Yeah, is Uncle Kennie here?" Suzume once again reiterated her older sister. 

I watch Misao bend down to get at eye level with the little girls as she shakes her head. "Nope. I sent Uncle Kennie on a mission to the market to get me some ingredients so I can cook dinner later on. He should be back in a few minutes. So why don't you girls sit down with Auntie Kaoru in the meantime while I clean up the kitchen, kay?"

Both girls nod as they come running over towards me and sit on the couch quickly chattering among themselves. 

For some reason, I start getting nervous. I mean, that happens when you feel beads of sweat coming down your forehead, right? What's wrong with me? It's just Kenshin. Another normal guy that goes to my school. He should be no different than, say, Sano or Aoshi, right?

However, those reasons don't appease my consciousness as I could practically feel my heart trying to throb out of my chest. What is happening to me?

It was at the moment when I heard the door open. Because of the angle I was sitting at, I couldn't see who it was, but my three guesses were all _Kenshin_.

"Taidama!" I heard a voice call out, and if my memory doesn't serve me wrong, it was definitely Kenshin's.

Almost instantly, both Ayami and Suzume sped of towards Kenshin, leaving me behind, alone with my thoughts. It wasn't until that minute when I realized something. **Why** am I so afraid of him, or at least to speak to him? The answer was so simple to find that I laughed. Kenshin **is** just another regular guy like Sano and Aoshi…………just one good looking guy, not to mention strange and mysterious as well. There is absolutely no reason why I can't act normal around him.

Finally reaching a decision myself, I decided not to wait for Kenshin, but instead introduce myself. I walked over to where everyone was gathered and just stood there, watching the scene unfold itself. Kenshin certainly had a look of surprise on his face when Ayami and Suzume reached him. But it quickly turned to a cheerful smiled as he bent down to them to hug them both. _'Wow……never would have thought Kenshin as a caring, compassionate guy.'_

It wasn't until when Misao coughed and pointed in my direction when Kenshin finally realized I was there. And to explain his facial expression when he saw me – well, I can't. It was a cross between a million things – shock, surprise……and I could have sworn I saw a hint of nervousness in his eyes. _'Kenshin, nervous? Why?'_

I have no clue how long our eyes stayed locked on one another. Another cough from someone, I don't know who, brought me back to reality, and apparently it had the same effect on Kenshin because he was shaking his head. And, what? No way! Was that a……………..faint blush?

Kenshin was the one to speak first. "Hi Kaoru-dono. Um, it's a surprise to see you here."

I giggled. "Yeah, Misao said the same thing."

"Ahhhhh………" he trailed off, nodding his head slowly before Ayami caught his attention.

"Uncle Kennie! Do you wanna play with us?"

"Yeah Uncle Kennie! Let's play!" her younger sister said.

I was breaking down in giggles – on the inside – at Kenshin's situation. If only you could have seen his face. It was a cross between bewilderment and compassion. I cocked my head to see if a different angle would help clarify things. Nope……same cute picture. 

………………………….Wait, did I just say cute?"

It was Misao who answered for him. "Yep, Uncle Kennie will play with you guys. Because I'm cooking a surprise dinner for him and I don't want him to see what it is." 

She then directed her attention to Kenshin as I stayed in the background, just observing. "Kenshin, you give me those groceries and take the girls to the park for the afternoon while I cook. Got that?!" Wow, Misao was determined to get Kenshin out of the house. One could tell by the authority in her voice.

"You sure Misao? I don't want to leave all the work to you, that I don't."

At this, Misao just grabbed the bags Kenshin was holding and pushed him towards the door. "Yes I'm sure! Now go!"

"Ok, ok, I'm going." Now **this** was a sight to behold. No one in the world would believe me if I told them that Kenshin would take orders from his sister. No one single person.

However, the next thing that came out of Kenshin's mouth took me by surprise……totally! "Kaoru-dono, would you like to accompany us to the park?"

For some reason, my fatigue and full stomach was completely forgotten. I found myself saying yes without any hesitation whatsoever.

It took us about five minutes to walk to the park, with Ayami and her sister constantly talking about random things (and I do mean random) to Kenshin and me. I really didn't say anything, just nodded. Kenshin, on the other hand, seemed fully interested in what the little girls had to say. This red-head is just amazing me more and more. 

Of course, for some reason, I couldn't help myself but to take furtive glances toward Kenshin when he was not paying attention, or at least I hope he wasn't. Everything about him seemed so different from the norm. I mean, who exactly has red hair? It looked natural, and not bleached. And that strange scar on his left cheek – that alone gave me the reason to get to know him. 

I hadn't realized we reached the park until Kenshin asked the girls what they wanted to play first.

"Ummmmm………….let's play tag!" Suzume surprisingly said.

Ayami was quick to second the offer. I sighed. Tag – I mean, no offense to them, but playing tag itself was boring, and with girls less than half my age, was just made it worse. But in the end, I would play anyway. It made me happy to see them happy.

Kenshin smiled and nodded. "Okay, let's me see if I have a handkerchief." 

"Handkerchief? What do we need one to play tag?" I asked, totally confused.

Kenshin just smiled as both Ayami and Suzume giggled. "Why don't we show Kaoru-dono how **we** play tag?" Kenshin said, rhetorically.

Both girls nodded anyway and Kenshin finally pulled out the piece of cloth from his pocket. He handed it to me. "Put this over your eyes."

"What? Then how am I supposed to see?"

Kenshin just smiled. "That's the point, that it is."

It all slowly came to me. We were playing tag……blindfolded. Well, this would definitely be a new experience for me.

"Okay girls. Let's make that tall tree over there and the bushes on that side the boundaries." the red-head added as he pointed to the opposite sides. That gave only about a twenty, twenty-five feet distance both ways. Wow, we were even playing small distances. 

The three of us nodded as I finally put on the handkerchief. "Ok Kaoru-dono. We're ready anytime you're ready."

"Yeah Auntie Kaoru." both Ayami and Suzume shouted out.

I breathed in heavily, and exhaled the same way as I nodded, signaling I was ready. I could hear the three of them spread out – their voices gave them away. At first, I was unsure of how I would catch anybody, even the little girls. But as I opened up my other senses, especially hearing, it all came clear to me. 

I slowly started to walk toward the giggles I heard, which were coming from both Ayami and Suzume. I couldn't hear anything from Kenshin, but something else gave him away – his feet. This was easier than I thought. Instead of going for the easier targets, I decided to try to get Kenshin. I again, slowly walked in the direction I heard the feet shuffling, but every time I would get close, he would obviously just walk away. 

This was not getting me anywhere. I had to try another tactic. _'Wait, why in the world am I walking?'_ Mou! I should have been running. 

I stood my ground until I once again heard the shuffling of Kenshin's feet. I predicted in which direction he was going and ran full speed in that direction.

****

BAM! 

Yeah, I ran into something, but strangely, I wasn't hurt. I landed on something, soft, yet hard. I heard an "oof" follow afterwards and suddenly, I knew what I ran into. Quickly taking off the cloth covering my eyes, I found myself staring directly into Kenshin's beautiful violet eyes, and to make matters even worse……………or better (I didn't know what it was at the moment), we were only mere inches apart.

Kami! His eyes……just…wow! 

We were probably staring at each other for god knew how long when I noticed Kenshin was blushing and pointing down. I looked down and probably blushed the deepest shade of red I possibly could. 

I was on top of him, with my _other_ half between his legs. _'KAMI-SAMA – help me!!!'_

Literally, the next second, I was five feet away with him on my knees, and yes, probably blushing fifty shades or red as well. I noticed Kenshin having a faint red in his cheeks as well as he scratched his head nervously, it looked like. 

"Yay! Uncle Kennie is it!"

If it wasn't for Ayami or Suzume, who knows what would have happened. Kenshin seemed to totally forget about the situation as he took the handkerchief from me and tied it around his eyes. 

Thank the Kami that Sano or Megumi or someone from school wasn't there to see that, or else I would **never** hear the end of it. Especially from Sano. Who knows where he would have taken _that_ to? And it's a good thing that Ayami and Suzume are too young to understand the _meaning_ of it all. 

Needless to say, there wasn't much "running" done by either Kenshin or me from then on.

Believe it or not, we spent a full hour and a half playing "Blindfold Tag," and it was actually fun! Luckily, nothing……strange……had happened again and everything went by normally. After that, we took a half hour break eating some snacks Kenshin had brought and resting up. Another hour was spent playing on the playground with the little girls and then another thirty minute break was the order.

It was about six in the evening when both girls finally fell asleep, both **on** Kenshin too. I couldn't help but to giggle at him as he eventually gave up trying to move the girls off him and put his arm around the two, trying to make them as warm as possible. We chatted for awhile thereafter about school and such. I decided that it was not the best of times to ask him about his past. I barely even knew him. However, I did find out that he was going to tryout for the swordfight team. And yes, I can't wait to see him in action. Misao had just **watched** him practice and she was good. It made me wonder how good Kenshin was. Probably not better than Aoshi though. He's just invincible.

It came out of nowhere. My stomach all of a sudden started to grumble. I gave Kenshin an apologetic smile. I was hungry. It couldn't be helped.

"Why don't we go over to my apartment as see was Misao cooked for us?" 

"I can't do that Kenshin. It's dinner for you." I was hungry, but I wasn't about to ruin whatever Misao had in mind for her brother.

Kenshin just waved his hand. "It's no problem, that it isn't. Now would you be so kind enough to carry Suzume?"

I tried once more to argue with Kenshin, but it seemed that once his mind was made up, it was solid. I shrugged and decided to eat with them in the end.

We were halfway to his apartment when the girls woke up, soon exclaiming that they were hungry. Again, Kenshin solved that problem.

In no time at all, we reached Kenshin's home. And conveniently enough, Misao said she just finished cooking whatever she made. And just to make sure I wasn't intruding on anything, I asked Misao if I should leave. Again, like her brother, she said she made extra. 

Did they know we were going to eat here?

Five people seemed to crowd the table in their apartment, but again, nobody seemed to mind. Strangely, I felt at home with both Kenshin and Misao, and with both Ayami and Suzume there, things seemed merrier.

I watched as Misao placed the food she prepared on the table. I inhaled deeply and found the aroma emanating from the food to be quite intoxicating. 

"Can we eat now?" Ayami asked.

"Yeah, I'm hungry Uncle Kennie!" Suzume added.

"Let's wait for Misao girls, then we'll start eating." the red-head answered them. 

We didn't have to wait very long, thankfully. Misao joined us a minute after. She looked blankly at all of us before exclaiming, "Well, what are all of you waiting for? Dig in!"

As Misao opened all the covers, I slowly examined everything on the table: miso soup, bread, chicken, tofu, sushi, fruit, and other delectable items. _'Wow……'_

"Misao, this is all really too much, that it is." Kenshin had stated as he seemed as marveled as I was at the choice of items that could be eaten.

"Nonsense Kenshin. I was in a good mood today………so be grateful!" his sister added with a voice of authority. 

I smiled as I first served a little bit of everything to Ayami's plate as Kenshin did the same to Suzume. Misao seemed busy filling up my plate, as well as her brother's and in the end, finally took some for herself.

Now you should know firsthand, the looks can be deceiving. I mean, I remember when I cook – sure, the food looks and smells editable, but that necessarily does not mean it **is **editable. Yeah, that might sound mean, but I'm also worried about my health.

Luckily for me, Misao had previously announced Kenshin would be the first to eat. And I could have sworn I saw Kenshin sweat drop at the proclamation. 

Anyway, Kenshin did take a sip of the soup. I watched him closely as the spoon he was holding entered his mouth. He seemed to be tasting it very carefully, because it took him a whole two minutes to actually come out and say it was…………good.

I shrugged and decided to taste it myself. Quickly taking a spoonful of the soup, I let my taste buds do the talking for me.

The bottom line – let's just say if I had to chose food made between Misao and myself, it would be a hard, grueling decision, but in the end, I would have chosen Misao.

"It's………….good." I managed to squeak out somehow. 

Ayami and her sister, however, didn't have any trouble about saying their "real" thoughts. "It's too hot! It's too spicy! It doesn't taste like chicken!"

I giggled as I reassured a frowning Misao that it was indeed, good. I mean, it's better than mine, and anything that's better than my cooking – is good.

After we finished eating and helped Misao clean all the dishes, there was a knock on the door. Kenshin went and opened it, revealing Dr. Genzai. His granddaughters were quick to greet him, and after some quick farewells, they left. And as for my pay, yeah, I would be getting in tomorrow. 

Now all that was left was Kenshin, Misao and I, and well, I seemed out of the picture all of a sudden. "I guess I should be getting home."

Kenshin nodded as Misao was more vocal. "Yeah, it's starting to get dark. You want to borrow my brother so he could walk you home?" For some reason, the tone in her voice was more mischievous than ever.

Yes, I was probably blushing ten different shades of red again, but I declined. "It's okay Misao, I'll be fine. But thanks again for the food and helping me take care of the girls."

"It's no problem! Right, Kenshin?" Misao asked as she nudged him with an elbow.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, no problem at all." 

I smiled as I put on my sandals. "Guess I'll see you guys in school on Monday."

"Yep, till then Kaoru! Bye!" Misao chirped.

"Yeah, bye Misao." As for Kenshin, I just waved to him as he did the same to me. 

  
And just like that, with one foot out the door, I was out of his house.

Wow, if someone had told me earlier today that I would be spending the whole day with Kenshin and Misao, I would have thought they were nuts. But seriously, now that I do think about it, today was the most fun I had for a long time. 

Yep, things were definitely changing around town.

****

Author's Notes: First of all, let me thank my readers/reviewers from last chapter:  


Setine, StarPrincess Sakura, Califpinay3001, Piper, flyinangel777, Azura1, larisa, Linggoddess, whisper*2*imaginary, Billabongbog, nikki, hey=), irksome one, missaw, fireruby, Asuka-chan2, Dragowolf, Alderine, Orphan, Namiko the anime wizard, akasha_death, ESP, Sakura Lane, Rath, blazin dragon, dark-coyote, Nanaka

Again - I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart! You all keep me alive!  


Wow, I can't believe I actually finished this chapter one day ahead of schedule, and with all my packing that needed to be done. And fyi, this chapter is also 5000+ words - and I'm proud!!

I was initially going to end this chapter before the whole "dinner" scene at the Himura's house, but your reviews were so encouraging and great, I decided to add it on. 

I really hoped you like this chapter also. At first, I wasn't sure that this chapter was written as well as the others, but after I read it over a couple of times, I thought it was ok, to say the least. I guess I'll see how good/bad it is after reading your reviews.

Yes, as I said before, I start college Friday - so I have no clue when I'll be able to update next. Just don't count on the regularly weekly update, that's for sure. I'll **try** to update every two to three weeks. I'm really sorry about that, but that's life, I suppose.

Well, as usual, I always love to hear your thoughts on this chapter, so that's why I'm posting it up a day earlier. So **LEAVE A REVIEW!** Thanx a lot!

Till next chapter people,  
vindemon64


	7. Joys and Anguishes

****

Disclaimer: I regret to inform all of you that I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or its characters, although I do own any created characters that my imagination comes up with.

**************************************

Chapter 7 – Joys and Anguishes

**************************************

Author's Notes: This chapter is told in Misao's point of view.

****

I dreamily gazed out the window as Hennya-sensei's talk about aeronautics was going into one ear and out the other. I looked at him glumly, took another glance at the clock and returned my stare to the window. It wasn't that I didn't like the topic of aeronautics, but when you're going to meet the man of your dreams in less than four hours for tea, how can you pay attention to anything else? It's just impossible.

"…Miss Himura?" I faintly heard someone call out my name.

I shrugged, thinking it was a figment of my imagination and began to daydream again. Ooooo……I can't wait!

Suddenly, I felt someone give me a hard nudge on my side and quickly turned my head to find Kaoru pointing towards the front of the room. With a look of dread upon my face no doubt, I found Hennya-sensei looking directly at me with his small, piercing eyes.

"Miss Himura, are you going to answer my question or just stare out the window, observing the clouds move?" 

"Uh…sorry Hennya-sensei, but could you repeat the question?" I quickly replied, secretly hoping for it to be something I knew.

I heard him sigh before he answered my request. "What is the speed of gravity upon the moon, Miss Himura?"

I gulped down really hard. Now this was something I had no clue of the answer to. Sure, if he asked me the gravity upon the Earth, it would have taken me less than seconds to answer the question. I quickly surveyed the room and found Aoshi also turned towards me. I sweat dropped even further. Now I knew I had to answer correctly or Aoshi would probably think I'm stupid or something of the sort.

"Ummm……well Hennya-sensei…" I said, prolonging the inevitable. "The gravity upon the moon, unlike what the gravity is upon the Earth………is……" And then best thing that could ever happen to me, happened.

__

"Brrrrrriiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnngggggggg!!!!!"

I sighed happily as my other classmates quickly gathered their things and left the room just as quickly. I slowly packed up my notebook and textbook and walked out the room, giving a happy nod towards Hennya-sensei, who looked at me strangely before returning to whatever was occupying him on his desk. It didn't matter though, because exactly three and a half hours from now, I would be in heaven…………once again.

"Misao, for future reference, the gravity upon the moon is one sixth that of Earth's." I heard a familiar voice mention to me the minute I stepped out the classroom door. 

I turned my head, and to no surprise, found Kenshin, with his back leaning against the wall and head down so he could once again, hide his eyes he was so fearful to show in public. At that moment, I felt sad for my brother. If only people really knew the _real_ him and not this fake façade he puts on to push others away, then perhaps, he would be much more social and unafraid.

I rolled my eyes. I had more important things to worry about at the moment than the gravity force upon the moon. "Kay Kenshin, I'll keep that in mind." I quickly asserted as I rushed towards my locker.

To my surprise however, it was not Kenshin who I found next to me, but Kaoru. I jumped in surprise. Catching my breath, I looked at a confused Kaoru. "Sorry Kaoru……didn't expect to see you there."

She blinked blankly, but shrugged in the end. "Hey Misao, I was wondering if you were doing anything after school today?" 

I stared at her for a brief moment. No one, and I mean no one ever asked me that question ever before. In all my years as a child or teenager, I had never once been asked by someone if I was busy after school, almost like they wanted me to join them in some sort of an activity. Kaoru asking me that question almost made me feel accepted………like I was actually part of her "circle" of friends if you wanted to say. I don't know, but that's how I felt. 

I was about to say no when I spotted Aoshi out of the corner of my eye. I couldn't believe that I almost forgot about **_that_**. I smiled apologetically at Kaoru. "Sorry Kaoru, but I'm already promised elsewhere."

I watched as Kaoru's expression slowly changed from a happy to a sad demeanor. I felt completely horrible inside. I wanted badly to accept Kaoru's offer, but Aoshi was a once in a lifetime opportunity. "But I'm free tomorrow Kaoru, and the day after……" I quickly added. 

She answered with a smile. "Oh, ok……thanx for the insight then, Misao. See you around." And with that, she left.

I watched as she rounded the corner and into another hall. Quickly snapping out of my reverie, I packed the books I needed to complete tonight's homework and ran outside. However, when Kenshin didn't show for a full five minutes, I had enough as I quickly ran to my apartment. I needed to prepare tonight's dinner, finish my homework, and pick out what I would wear to my "date" later today. So much work, and yet so little time do accomplish it in. But why should I complain? I'm happy.

Why the hell does our apartment have to be on the fifth floor? I mean, I remember asking Hiko to at least get Kenshin and me an apartment on the third floor or lower, and what does the arrogant guy do? He goes ahead, requests an apartment the **exact** opposite of what I so nicely asked him to _try_ to get. I don't believe that I actually love the guy. Ugh!

However, all of that soon goes out the window as I reach our apartment, only to find it locked. Now let me tell you all that on the very **rare** occasions that Kenshin does not walk home with me – I suppose he wants his privacy every now and then – he **always** reaches here before I do. I mean, I remember one time, a few years ago, I clearly remember leaving him back at school as I was racing him back home. And yeah, you guessed it. As soon as I reached our apartment, there was Kenshin, in the living room, already diligently doing his homework. It had seemed like he never left home in the first place! One day, I swear to it, I'll find out how he has the ability to run so fast. I mean, he can't fly, right? ……………Right?

So now I'm worried. I don't even remember Kenshin telling me that he had somewhere to be after school. 

  
Cautiously I get out my key and open the door. Taking off my shoes, out of habit, I drop my book bag next on the sofa and begin to walk into the kitchen when Kenshin's bag catches my eye. Well, what do you know? He's already here. But then why did he lock up the door? 

I walk to his room and find it empty. The bathroom door is open, already telling me he's definitely not inside there and nobody is in my room either. I check the kitchen lastly and as all the previous room had in common, empty of any life whatsoever. 

Ok – now I'm scared. 

  
What if somebody kidnapped him? 

What if, when on his was to opening the door, he dropped his key, bent down to reach for it, and while he was doing that, somebody came with a wooden stick and knocked him unconscious?

What if…………

……………….he left me a note on the kitchen table.

"Hehehe……good one Misao. Getting worked up for no reason." I slowly tell myself. _'After all, Kenshin does know the Hiten Mitsurugi Style of Swordfight. If someone was going to approach him, he'd know it ten seconds beforehand.'_

  
Slapping my forehead, I grab Kenshin's note:

__

"Gone out. Don't worry. Be back late. Not till 8 or 9. Don't bother with dinner."

-Kenshin

Yep, it's Kenshin's handwriting alright.

The nerve of him! He leaves me no contact information whatsoever; doesn't tell me where he's going or why. I mean, c'mon! He doesn't even write one complete sentence. It's just a bunch of fragments. Better remember to give him a piece of my mind when he gets back. 

…………Then again, now that Kenshin won't be back till late, that means I won't have to worry about dinner, which means I can start my homework………NOW! ………Eh, I'd rather make dinner.

I glanced at the clock and read it to be three-thirty. If I wanted to adequately prepare myself for my "date" with Aoshi, I needed at least thirty minutes to find something nice to wear. Yeah, I know that seems rather long. But it usually takes me twenty five to actually figure out _what_ I want to wear. Hehehehehe………….

Looking through my subjects, I had a choice of math, history or economics. "Well Misao. You know that you're terrible at math, and without Kenshin's homework around to guide you through the problems, you're as good as dead." Agreeing with myself one hundred percent, I decided to wait until tonight, when Kenshin would be around, to finish up math. 

"Now all that leaves is economics………and about fifty pages of history reading (small text, may I add too), followed by a two-page summary of what we read." Sometimes, I wish I could just punch Hajime-sensei in the face.

"Finally………DONE!" Putting the last period in its place on my essay, I quickly dropped my pen and shake my hand. Writer's cramp can stink sometimes. Yes, sometimes. You wouldn't believe it, but one time, I got out from taking a test, complaining to the teacher that my hand was sore because I had written a ten page paper the night before. FYI, our computer was down that night. 

I quickly checked the time. "Five forty-five. Perfect – forty-five minutes to prepare for tonight!" 

Applying a bit of blush and lip gloss, I grinned as I opened my closest. Inside was probably the most unique, widely group of dresses, skirts, pants and shirts known to man. It had everything from the most beautiful of dresses to the roughest jeans around. Eyeing my closet I found a blue dress hung in the back that I had only worn a couple of times before – for the most **special** of occasions, like Kenshin's birthday for example. I shook my head, deciding it would be a bit to classy. After all, Aoshi usually _trains_ at that park – the chances of him wearing a tuxedo to match this dress were slim to none.

After much deliberation, I finally found what I was going to wear. Simple blue jeans and a t-shirt that said "Ninja-girl" on the front. I smiled as I checked myself one last time in the mirror. Pulling my hair to check on my braid, I found it at its correct tightness. And in record time. It took me only twenty-five minutes to prepare. "Yay! This means I have twenty minutes to roam around before I meet Aoshi!"

Locking the apartment, I happily skipped to the ground level. Once outside, I looked up, shading my eyes, and smiled. "A beautiful day: the sun shining, not one dark cloud in the sky, birds chirping – nothing can go wrong today. Yep – just perfect."

Of course, I always speak to soon, as at that exact moment, I tumbled towards the ground as I felt something, rather, someone, run into me. 

"Iiiittaaiiiii!" I groaned loudly. 

"Hey busu!!! Why don't you watch where you're going?" I heard a voice, a rather familiar and annoying voice, yell out.

__

'Yep, there goes that perfect day of mine.' "Me watch where I'm going?! I was just standing here, Yahiko-CHAN!"

Like before, the _–chan_ seemed to hit a sensitive spot in the kid, because a moment later, he was staring at me furiously, with eyes full of rage. "I'm NOT little!"

__

'Oohh…this was too good of an opportunity. Maybe today will be a perfect day.' Smiling, I patted him on his head like I would have done to Ayame or Suzume. "Kay Yahiko-chan, whatever you say."

I watched as he gave me this bemused look, like he wanted to say something back to me, to defend his position, but couldn't think of anything at the moment. At this, I couldn't hold it any longer and finally collapsed in a laughing fit.

"What's so funny busu!?" I heard the kid yell at me.

"It's…haha…just…haha…well…haha……nothing!" I was surprised that I was actually able to say anything. I really was laughing pretty hard right then.

It wasn't until a moment later when Yahiko all of a sudden panicked and grabbed what looked like to be another delivery from the Akabeko. "Ugh! Now look what you made me do. I'm going to be late! Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!"

I watched him run as he gradually disappeared into the distance. Still basking in my latest win over the little brat, I began on my way when I bumped into someone else, or to be more precise, somebody ran me over, because when it was all set and done, I was on the floor with someone looking down upon me.

"Iiiitttaaaiiiii…" I groaned for the second time that day as I rubbed my little butt. _'Ugh, one more time and I think I'm going to crawl to the park.'_

"Sorry weasel girl. Didn't see you there, you know what I mean." 

__

'Weasel girl!!' I deduced that could only be Sano, because if that was indeed Hiko-sama, then he'd be laughing his little arrogant laugh when I would be in a tight spot. Taking that hand Sano offered me, he pulled me up easily. 

"You okay Misao?" he asked as if he didn't really care.

I rolled my eyes out on him. Today I really didn't feel like yelling at him for calling me weasel girl – I dunno, I just wasn't in the mood. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for caring."

It took the rooster head a couple of seconds to actually reply back. "Huh? Oh yeah, it's no problem." And with that, he started to run along, ironically in the same direction as Yahiko. "Gotta run Misao. Catch ya at school tomorrow." If I would have cared at that moment, I would have asked him why he was caring a delivery bag from the Akabeko, but like I said; I didn't care at the moment. After all, I had more important things to do.

Deciding it would be for the best to just forget everything that had happened in the last five minutes, I crossed the road and entered the park. Now that I thought about it, I never really took a detailed look around this place. The park itself was really big. A well-sized pond was located at the center of the park, with trees here and there around it. The grass was the purest shade of green one could find in such an industrialized city like Tokyo. Benches were scattered around as well as sandboxes and playgrounds for the children. A couple of swing sets here and there, and to make the park perfect, there were four areas, each located at the respective corners of the park, where one could find solitude if they really wanted it. 

Trying to remember the exact steps I took last week, I went to find Aoshi. So what if I was going to be ten minutes early? It's not like its going to mean anything………right? Right. It means exactly nothing. _'Then why do I get the feeling like it does mean something?'_

Desperately tossing the last thought out of my mind, I somehow found myself staring at Aoshi, who was only an approximate ten to fifteen feet away from me. _'How in the world did I get here? How did I not notice him earlier? And why the hell do I always tend to lose my concentration when thinking? ………like I'm doing NOW!"_

I watched him, or so to say, just downright stared at him. Even though the only part of him I was looking at was his back, just his stature right there made me melt. _'Ugh…this is already not going my way. Just relax Misao. Remember, Aoshi is a normal guy, just like Sano or some other knucklehead in your class. Just because he downright gorgeous doesn't change anything.'_

Smiling to myself for figuring everything out, I cautiously walked over to him until I was about five feet away. "Hey…"

Apparently I didn't speak loud enough, or he just didn't hear me. "Hello."

This time I knew I spoke loud enough. If he didn't hear me, then he must be deaf. "HELLO!"

Finally, he answered. "I heard you the first time Misao."

For some reason, this seemed to be a common practice. I quickly rethought my other encounters with him and found out that he always said that; answered me on the third call rather than the first, but however, claiming that he heard me the first time. Next time I'll be ready. 

"You're early?" 

  
Actually, from the way he said it, it sound more like he was pointing it out rather than asking. "Yeah…" I said weakly. "Uh……you know……finished my homework a little earlier than expected………and with nothing else to do, I decided to come here."

I watched him as he nodded understandingly. I stood there like an idiot for a few seconds before he continued. "Care to sit?"

"Huh!? Oh, yeah, love to." I answered quickly, sitting on the ground across from him. 

"If you don't mind, can you wait another five minutes while I finished my meditation exercises?" he asked.

"No, I don't mind at all." At that was the truth, all the more time to scrutinize his looks even further. When I was positive that he returned to his meditation, I risked a look at his face. 

Now, let me begin by saying that if it was possible to describe Aoshi Shinomori in words, I'd do it. But it's impossible. The elegant flow of his hair cascading down to his eyes, just to the right height, was all in itself beautiful. His hair is a dark shade of blue; I supposed he dyed it from an original black, who knows. _'Then again, who cares?'_ The rest of his features on his face all flowed together smoothly, again, non-describable. 

What was five minutes felt like ten seconds, because he finally opened his eyes, and I couldn't help but to release of a small gasp. Cerulean blue eyes – downright gorgeous. Not only did they look mysterious, but they held a certain passion in them. 

"Is there something on my face?" he asked suddenly.

Now here, I was probably blushing the deepest shade of red known to man. "Huh? Oh, no! Nothing. I was just……ah……there's nothing." _'Calm down Misao. Remember your training. He's just a normal guy. Nothing to be worried about.'_

The answer seemed to satisfy him as he shrugged and got up to stretch a bit. That's when I noticed the wooden kodachies at his side. "Are you going to try out for the Swordfight Team tomorrow?" 

I waited for a minute till he finally answered. "Yeah. I usually don't, but this year…it's different."

"Why" I asked innocently.

He stared at me for a moment before walking over to his backpack. "Let's just say, I've been put on the spot."

"How?" I prodded again.

As he turned around, I saw a small smirk across his lips. _'Wow, that actually looked……refreshing to me…to see him have something other than a solemn face.'_

"Nothing you don't have to concern yourself over with, Misao." he answered gently as he brought a couple of foam cups and a thermos. "How about you?"

"Me? Swordfight Team? You've got to be kidding me. I'm not good enough."

This seemed to get something out of Aoshi because he paused in the middle of pouring out his tea. "Seemed to me the other day that you handled yourself more than adequately against Sagara."

I waved my hand nonchalantly. "Eh, that was just a spur of a moment thing. Plus, I knew the rooster head was holding back on me. And, yeah, it maybe have _looked_ like I knew my stuff, but that's _all_ I know about kenjutsu. I just picked up bits and pieces from watching my brother train."

Again, this elicited another shocking reaction from Aoshi, as he stopped in the middle of pouring my tea, and to make matters even more intense, his eyes widened a bit before returning to this normal state. "Interesting…" he commented slowly before handing me my cup of tea.

I stared at the liquid. I completely forgot that I didn't even like tea. Eventually, not to ruin the moment, I took a deep breath and took a sip of the tea. I was ready to force the drink down my throat when, surprisingly, I found it to be very refreshing to my body, and not tasting all that bad either. "What kind of tea is this?" I asked curiously, eyeing the liquid from a million different perspectives.

I dimly heard Aoshi chuckle before he answered. "My own concoction of herbal tea. It refreshes the mind and relieves the body of stress. Plus, it just feels good to drink it."

"I agree!" I exclaimed happily as I continued to sip the hot liquid slowly. "I'm going to have to get the recipe from you some time. The tea **I** make is not nearly as good as this, at least in taste."

"I find that hard to believe." Aoshi replied back, which completely caught me off-guard. I really hadn't expected him to say something like _that_. 

Shrugging, "Hahaha……then I'm just going to have to bring you some next week, so you can see for yourself."

"Look forward to it."

I smiled as my secret way of asking him for another "date" so to speak for next week was answered positively. Maybe we could just make this a weekly ritual of some sort. Who knows?

The two of us quietly sipped the tea in companionable silence, at least I thought it was companionable, when Aoshi suddenly asked me a question. "So, how do you like it here?"

I beamed – now this was something I could talk about. "It's gorgeous……so much better than all the other places I've lived in. Here, there's everything. A great school, cool people, movies, dojos, parks……like I said, everything. I mean, just the scenery around here gives me the spark to get through another fun-filled day of school." I said sarcastically. "And the school……people might not say that our school is perfect, but compared to every other one I've been too……."

"How many exactly have you been enrolled in?"

"Eh, tons. Now that I think about it, we move every six months or so because of a school change. If we don't like it, then we leave. But anyway, that's beside the point. Now where was I? Oh yeah, **this** school though, its actually fun to go to. Everyone is so nice, there so many activities to take part in like drama and key club and………………"

If I had actually would have taken the time to stop from my tirade, I would have seen Aoshi – completely serene at the moment, with a small smile hidden behind his cup of tea.

Waving bye to Aoshi, I watched his retreating figure walk in the opposite direction that I was heading. I sighed happily as I finally turned around and merrily skipped back home. Now **that** had gone much better than I had expected it to go. Sure, at first, I was nervous as hell, not knowing exactly what we were going to talk about. But after sipping some of that tea, everything all of a sudden clicked and **we**……………………………

……………………………………

……or **I **was talking to him like I knew him for so long. Now that I do think about it, I surely did talk a lot…maybe more than I should have. _'Oh no! Maybe he was getting pissed at me for pestering him so much.'_ But then, why didn't he say something. And he also showed me some new techniques for throwing kunais (after I told him that I did that), some tricks that will even amaze Hiko the next time he tests me, heheheheheheheheheh.

Well, even if I did seem to do most of the talking, he didn't seem to mind at all, so it doesn't bother me. _'As long as I get to hang out with him more often, then it's all worth it in the end.'_

Agreeing with myself, I soon found myself in my own apartment, and the first thing I notice was exactly how late it was. _'Oops! Eight-thirty? Kenshin is going to have my head.'_ I waited for the inevitable verbal assault, but strangely, it never came. I guess Kenshin wanted to get some extra practice in before the tryouts tomorrow. Now that I think about it, it has been awhile since Kenshin fought a swordfight seriously……a long while. 

"Oh well…he'll be home by nine. He's always arrived by nine. I suppose I'll take a nice, long, hot shower – to freshen up before a good night sleep."

And believe me, when I say long, I do mean long because I wasn't finished till ten after nine. Then again, I didn't start until eight forty-five, so I suppose twenty five minutes isn't too long, at least for me. 

But that all soon became trivial matters when I found out that Kenshin still hadn't arrived from his training. And to make things worse, it started to rain…and I mean pouring. I couldn't help but to get worried. It's not like I don't trust him, I know he can take care of himself. But I still get scared when I don't know what's happening to him. 

Slowly convincing myself that he was probably on his way right this moment, I decided to pass the time by watching some television. And just in time too. My favorite show started at nine-thirty. 

You could always rely on your favorite television show to let you momentarily forget your worries. Becoming so engrossed with the story of the show, you sometimes tend to replace yourself with a character in the show, hoping to experience what that person was feeling at the same time. I blushed slightly at the fascination I created with placing myself as one character and Aoshi as another. Hehehehe…………

__

"Doooonnnnggggg!"

I quickly turned my eyes toward the clock – it just struck ten, and Kenshin was still not here. Ok, now I started to panic…a little. …………………………………

…………………………………………………………

……………….ok, maybe a lot! 

But can you blame me? If the person you loved – the person that was responsible for your very state of being, was not home by his usual time, even though you are completely aware that he could take care of himself…or herself…do **not** tell me you would still not worry. Cuz that's a complete lie.

"Kenshin……where are you?" I remember myself whispering to myself every now and then.

I just sat there…on the sofa…curled up in a ball…intently watching the clock as its minute hand tortured me…slowly moving around the clock. The loud roar of the thunder against the hard beating of the rain against the window; along with the howling of the wind just made be even more terrified by the second. Something was definitely wrong. 

10:10………10:15………10:30………10:45………

__

"Doooonnnnggggg!"

"11:00……p…m…" When I knew I couldn't stand it any longer, I was going to pick up my coat and umbrella. I know that Kenshin would probably kill me if I ever went outside in this kind of weather, but I **had **to find him. 

I swear, the exact second as I was going to pick up my coat, the door slammed open, and I screamed. Oh yeah, I screamed – very loudly. Not because I was scared – well ok, maybe I was a bit scared…but the state Kenshin was in made me want to cry…hard.

Here I was, enjoying a beautiful evening with Aoshi and a warm, cozy night in my apartment. But Kenshin……the state he was in……I couldn't describe the fear I felt within my body. All I knew was that it was **immense.**

Kenshin was here alright……along with a broken wooden sword, rips in his training hakama and gi, fresh new scars alongside his arm, body and his unscarred cheek, and he was **soaking** wet. 

However, when I looked unto his eyes…………I froze in shock. They weren't the usual kind and innocent looking violet eyes he always has when he's around me, nor were they the hard, steely blue he wore during training. 

They were amber yellow alright. However, with one tremendous catch. Unlike the previous times I've seen his eyes with that color……this time though……I felt **pure** hatred emanating from his body. Never, never in my entire life that I had known him, had I ever seen Kenshin have **pure** hatred for something…someone. NEVER! Whenever he wore his amber yellow eyes, it just meant he wanted to be left alone.

I watched him as he labored a step inside the house. He then opened to speak, "Mii………..saaaooo…" 

I let my tears run loose when I saw him collapse to the ground. In pain? In fear? In frustration? In fatigue!? I had no clue! I had no fucking clue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When the common sense part of my brain finally kicked in, I wasted no time in getting Kenshin to his room, securing the look on our door, stripping him of his wet clothes, redressing him with warms ones and setting him on his bed, in his blanket, making him as warm as possible. I felt his forehead, only to feel that he was burning up…quickly too!

In his state, Kenshin was having trouble breathing, let alone swallowing some medicine pills. Quickly getting a wet cloth, I placed it over his head. 

This was all I could do. 

This was all I could do.

"This was all I could do!!!!!!!!!!??" It wasn't fair!!!! There had to be something more I could do!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

That night……for the first time in a long time………I cried myself to sleep, telling myself there was only one thing I could do. Be there for Kenshin, just like he was there for me all those years ago.

A low groaning sound woke me up the next morning. From the awkward position I found myself in, sitting in a chair, with my head on the bed next to me, I sat up and yawned when suddenly everything what transpired last night hit me like a thunderbolt against a lightning rod. Instantly feeling Kenshin's forehead, I let out a huge sigh to find the fever barely noticeable, almost gone.

I was going to the bathroom to replace the washcloth when a delicate voice broke the silence. "Misao………"

It wasn't even as loud as a whisper, but I could hear that voice anywhere. I felt fresh new tears threatening to spill from the eyes as I quickly turned around to find Kenshin smiling weakly at me. I couldn't hold it back any longer.

I hugged him.

"Kenshin! I…I……I…" I couldn't think of anything logical to say at that moment. I was just **so** relieved that he was ok.

"Shhhhh, Misao. It's ok. I'm feeling a lot better." There was a brief moment of silence. "Thank you."

"What happened Kenshin!?" I couldn't help my inquisitive nature. 

I watched him carefully as he averted his eyes away from my stare. "It's something I really don't feel like discussing right now."

I nodded, respecting that fact he wanted his privacy. _'Ooo…but he is **NOT** getting out of this one that easily. He **WILL** tell me…sooner or later……and I'll make sure it the former of the two!'_

"Misao, do me a favor?" I heard him say.

  
"Anything Kenshin."

"When you go to school today………"

  
"There is NO way I'm going to school today with you being in your state of condition. Someone needs to look after…………"

He didn't let me finish. "Don't worry Misao. Honestly, I feel much better. I just need rest. Anyway, like I said, when you go to school today, make sure you tell Saitoh that I'll won't be in his class, but I'll still make the tryout, got that?"

"WHAT! ARE YOU INSANE?"

"Misao." And he just didn't say my name; he said it with a hint of authority.

"But Kenshin! Look at you! You are in NO condition to try out! I'll just ask Saitoh if he could let you try another day, when you're feeling better. I'm sure if I explain the circumstances, he'll understand."

"Misao, let me be frank with you."

I looked at him curiously before nodding slowly. This was going to be the deciding factor on whether I would win this argument…or if Kenshin would.

"Do you still want to go to this school?"

I was about to retaliate when what he said finally hit me. "But…"

"No buts Misao. Now if you don't get going, you're going to be late."

There was nothing else in my mind to fight back. Kenshin had won. I don't believe this. _'That wool-headed baka!'_

"Fine! If you want to get yourself injured to the point where you won't be able to stand anymore, that's fine with me." And with that last sentence, I left and didn't look back. I was pissed, for more than obvious reasons.

It didn't take me long to get ready and I figured that I would just arrive at school in time. However, my conscious wouldn't let me leave until I said "bye" to Kenshin. Walking to his room, I found him contently sleeping with a smile on his face. Seeing that picture brought a warm smile to my face. 

  
No matter how stupid he was, I still love him all the same. 

****

Author's Notes: looks around nervously

Ok, before you guys get on my case, let me make the point that with the 5 hours of sleep I got each night for the past 4 or 5 months, you can't blame me that I didn't have time to update. I've been writing this chapter throughout those past months while swamped with loads of homework and studying. Again, I'm terribly sorry for not updating sooner, but this was the best I could do.

I do promise that this fic WILL NOT die…it'll just update slower until summer vacation. I hope to at least get another few chapters in before that time though.

As for this chapter, I really had a hard time seeing how exactly Aoshi was going to react, but I did the best that I could do and came up with what I have. I suppose I won't get to know if it was good enough until I receive some reviews.

So, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and make sure to **review** so I will know what to fix in my style to ensure better chapters. I love you guys for doing it so far!!!

Next chapter: Swordfight Team Tryout - title tentative

Till then,   
vindemon64


	8. Tryouts

**Disclaimer: I regret to inform all of you that I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or its characters, although I do own any created characters that my imagination comes up with.**

**Author's Notes:** This chapter is told in Kaoru's point of view.

**Chapter 8 – Tryouts  
**

From the moment I saw her today, I knew something was wrong. She did not have the same sparkly glimmer in her eyes as she always held whenever I saw her. But instead, they were eyes of fear, eyes that were downcast. _'What happened?'_ I wondered.

The class was talking amongst themselves as Saitoh was checking over the class attendance as he normally did. I shrugged and simply thought that she probably wasn't feeling all that well today.

"Miss Himura!" I heard the familiar voice of Saitoh call out.

"Yes, Hajime-sensei?"

"Has your brother decided to come in even later than his usual tardiness today?" From what I could fathom, Saitoh didn't like tardiness at all. What surprised me even more was the fact that he let Kenshin come in late as he usually did.

"No, sensei. He's not feeling all that well today and decided to stay home."

_'Kenshin, sick!'_ He seemed perfectly fine to me yesterday at school. And he didn't seem like the type who would get sick easily. I don't know why, it's just what I feel about his aura and all.

"I see…" was all Saitoh muttered, with a sadistic smile for some reason as he placed a mark on the attendance sheet.

"But he told me to tell you that he'll be at the tryouts today. He just didn't want to take the chance of falling ill before them, that's why he's taking it easy." Misao stated back in a matter-of-factly kind of tone. For some odd reason, when she said that, she wasn't all too excited. And here I thought that Misao wanted Kenshin to get involved with the school.

"I see…" Saitoh muttered once again. "Well, be that as it may, we need to speed up in class. We'll start where we left of the other day where the Western European nations were starting to make their way towards the Eastern countries of China and India, seeking spices and riches that………"

Saitoh voice soon went into one ear and quickly out the other as my thoughts wandered over to Kenshin. Sure, I had a better view of the blackboard, but…I don't know, I guess I kind of got used to staring at the unusual red-head in front of me. Well, at least the back of him anyway.

"Kamiya!" I heard a familiar voice call out my name.

I gulped and at the same time, rolled my eyes. Yeah, kind of a strange combination but with Saitoh, it really doesn't matter. Now the important question was whether Saitoh wanted me to answer a question or just called out my name to make fun of me for daydreaming or something like that.

"Yes, Hajime-sesnsei?" I replied back in a way that I pretended to be frightened, just so Saitoh would think I was afraid of tone.

"The answer to the question on the board!" he commanded. I got the feeling that if I got this question wrong, I'd be looking at a week's worth of detention for not paying attention in class for the millionth time.

I quickly scanned the board and read the question. Luckily, I remember reading something of the sort a few nights ago. "The problem with the Japanese government back then was that they did not allow any foreign traders, especially merchants from the European countries, into Japan to trade with them. Therefore, since they cut all communications with the outside world, Japan was both technologically and economically backwards." _'Hehe…bet you Saitoh didn't expect that coming from me, now did he?'_

My answer seemed to suffice Saitoh as he just glared at me for a couple of seconds before continuing on with his lecture. _'I better pay attention or one of these days Saitoh will actually get me.'_ I smiled to myself…that day won't be coming anytime soon. Once again, I decided to leave the mystery of the Himura siblings for a later time and concentrate on Saitoh's lecture. If I wanted to pass the country-wide exam, I better get my butt in gear now.

The morning went by as usual, with Saitoh giving out his boring lectures, Kanryu-sensei trying to explain to us why investing in his company would be beneficial to both us in the future and for the rest of mankind. Is the world really ready for a device that allows you brush your teeth, comb your hair and clean out your ears all at once? I highly doubt it.

Anyway, lunch time finally arrived…_thank god_…and I sat down where I usually did with Sanosuke and Megumi. I wonder what chit-chat they had to talk about today.

"So you hear, that this year our Swordfight team might actually have a chance of winning a few matches."

"Really now!?" Megumi asked, quite shocked by Sano's revelations. I rolled my eyes. Did they not see me right here?

"Yeah, with Aoshi joining the team, it could be possible."

_'Aoshi, trying out!?__ When in the world did that happen?!......and how come I wasn't told of this!?!?!?'_

"Wow…it's about time he did something productive with the skills he has."

"WHERE DID YOU HEAR THIS!?" I yelled out to them. And yeah, it was pretty loud because before you know it, everyone in the cafeteria was staring at me…again.

Both Sano and Megumi looked at me with a strange look.

"WELL!" I whispered violently to them and everyone went back to there one business.

"Chill out Jou-chan. You'd think I would leave you in the dark?"

"Yes!" I replied back. He always did too.

Sano chuckled in return. I was about to beat him up when he finally started talking. "I heard Beshimi talking it over with a couple of other people awhile ago."

Well, that figures why Sano heard it before I did. I'm always the second to know things…after his group, which kind of sucks at times, but I live with it. However though, this seriously got me thinking. _'Why exactly is Aoshi trying out for the team? I mean, is it because of that day when he and Kenshin had to stay after with Saitoh? Did something happen then? Or is there another reason? A more personal reason?'_ I decided to ask him myself. However, as soon as I got up, I spotted Misao, sitting alone at the table she usually shared with Kenshin. I don't know why, but instead of heading over to Aoshi, my feet took me over to Misao.

The closer I got, the more it pained me to see her. Something was really wrong. Her facial expression was way too melancholic to not be feeling well. "What's the matter Misao?" I asked as I took a seat next to her.

My presence seemed to startle her as she kind of jumped off of her seat a bit before settling down. "Huh? What? Oh, hi Kaoru. Nothing's wrong…just feeling a bit tired, that's all. Anyway, what brings you here anyway?"

I smiled sadly. _'The denial factor.__ I've used that method too much to see it actually work. Well…I guess if she doesn't want to tell me, it's not my place to force her into it. It's not like we are the best of friends or anything.'_ "Ohh…nothing really Misao. You just looked a bit lonely over here without Kenshin and thought that you might want to sit over with Sano, Megumi and I. That is, if you want to……"

Misao eyed me strangely and then took a glance over to where Sano and Megumi were sitting down at. "Are…are you sure your friends won't mind?" she asked hesitantly. "I mean, I really don't care where I sit."

I smiled as I took her lunch. "Nope. Now, if you don't come, I guess you won't be eating lunch today." Misao smiled and finally got up.

Sano and Megumi looked at me, then Misao and without a second thought, welcomed her warmly…to my relief. "Misao…I'm guessing you already met Sano." Sano gave his signature nod and toothy grin. "And this is Megumi Takani."

"Nice to meet you Misao." she said as she gave her a nod of her own before continuing talking about who knew what go Sano.

I sighed as I shrugged to Misao who gave me a thoughtful look and then giggled. "What's so funny?" I asked. Really, what was so funny.

She continued giggling and finally caught Megumi's and Sano's attention, who also wanted to know what exactly was so funny. When she realized everyone was staring at her, she stopped. "It's nothing. Relax. You guys just reminded me of something I've seen before. That's all. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to start eating before Hajime-sensei tells us the lunch ends half and hour earlier than usual.

"You too?!" Sano questioned with delight.

"Huh?"

I laughed. Well, at least Misao seemed to be returning to her old, cheery self again.

However, as the day went on, Misao seemed to again become overly solemn and worried about something. It nagged me to no ends………for some weird reason. I knew it wasn't my place to ask, but after Hennya-sensei's lecture on the importance of Newton's laws, I just had to ask.

I saw her alone at her locker. _'Finally, a chance.'_ I thought. However, as soon as I started walking over to her, she quickly banged her locker shut and ran towards the direction of the gym. _'Why'd she go there?'_ As far as I remembered, there were not after school activities planned for today.

Then it struck me like lightning. _'Swordfight Tryouts!'_ I couldn't believe I almost forgot the most important thing I always looked forward to in school. However, I still didn't get it. I thought Misao wasn't trying out for the team. I shrugged and decided to put her on hold in my mind for sometime. I had other things to do. Like some mental preparation for the tryouts!

Thirty minutes later, everyone who wanted to be a part of the team, was in the gym in different assortments of training or fighting attire. Aoshi was wearing blue pants along with a loosely worn blue shirt. I was wearing my traditional blue shirt with my gray hakama. Don't even start with my fashion statement!

Anyway, as I scanned the people around, there were more people trying out than I thought there would be. If you want figures, let's just say last year we barely had five people trying out – I had to convince a freshman that it would be fun to fight for you school in competitions. People would respect you…look up to you…………………….ok, fine. I gave the kid some money to join. But this year was different. There had to be at least fifteen people who wanted to join. Too bad only seven would make the team…the two extra would be for backup. I guess since Aoshi was trying out…and most likely going to make the team, people probably thought we actually had some kind of a chance to win a few matches. _'What the hell was I then?'_

It didn't hit me till I noticed the gym was much more crowded that it should have been. There were actually people sitting in the bleachers!! What had the world come to? Did Aoshi's skills actually make people want to watch the tryout? Ahhhhh! Suddenly there was this little voice in the back of my head that kept on telling me to kill Aoshi in his sleep so I would start getting the attention I very much deserved. I mean, I've been loyal to this team since I was a measly freshman! It's not fair.

I spotted Misao sitting way at the top…the last row of the bleachers. She kept on glancing towards the doors to the gym, as if expecting someone to walk through. Who else needed to be here?

Again, another thought struck me like lightning. Toma-sensei wasn't coaching the team anymore. _'Then who was?'_

My answer walked through the doors……and my worst fears came to life. _'Why him?__ It could have been anyone in the whole entire world. Hell, I would even let a five year old kid coach the team…but why in the world did it have to be __**Saitoh**?_

Dejectedly, I formed the line Saitoh commanded the prospects to form. Everyone else who wasn't trying out was **ordered** to sit in the bleachers.

Saitoh stared down at the fifteen of us like a general would to his army in training. He then looked up at the clock attached to the gym wall. Tryouts were supposed to start promptly at 4pm…and it was already 3:58pm. Another two minutes, and then we would see Saitoh's methods of seeing who exactly the best of the best were.

The clock seemed to slow down as the minute hand worked its way towards the twelve. The second hand was working its way around once more. I don't know what I was waiting for more……the second hand to finally reach the god-forsaken twelve or a bead of sweat to drop of my chin!

And then the gym doors opened as a figure walked……or rather, limped over to the line. At first, I really didn't know who exactly it was. Given the fact that I was at the other side of the gym, I really couldn't see over other people's head. It sucks being short! But I wasn't clueless for long.

"Nice of you to join us, Himura." Saitoh's curt response was to his late entrance. You know what they say, being early means your on time, being on time means you're late and if you're late, then don't even show up. I don't have to tell you that Saitoh took that to the heart.

"Yeah, whatever" was Kenshin's reply as he gradually got into line. Before I even had my own impressions to rely upon, whispers…well, at least I thought they were meant to be whispers, were around the gym in no time. From the bits and pieces I received, before Saitoh's menacing glare shut everyone up, I heard _injury_ and _is__ he serious._

_'What the hell is going on?'_ However, I didn't have much time to delve into an answer as Saitoh began giving out what would be his way of doing things around town.

I watched silently as Saitoh surveyed the bunch of us wanting to make the Swordfight team this year. It's strange…but as I look at him, I find myself thinking that this year, with Saitoh as our coach…that maybe…just maybe, we'll actually have a chance of doing remotely well in our matches. Despite how much I despise the guy, I have a feeling Saitoh knows how to pick out the scrawny competitors from the ones that have the guts and determination and willpower to fight their heart out. I knew Toma-sensei, despite the fact that there were never many people trying out for the team, would only pick his favorites over skill. That was evident last year when Soujiro tried out for the team. In my eyes, he had some skill during tryouts, but when it was time to make a decision, Toma-sensei picked some cocky-ass senior who was on the team for his four years, but it was clearly evident that Soujiro surpassed him in every way, shape or form. Hell, when the two had a practice match, Soujiro didn't even have to move and he would have won. But again, what do I know, right?

Eh, we'll see what happens this year.

Saitoh finally begain. "This year is going to be a hell of a lot different than what you weaklings were subjected to when you had Toma-sensei as your coach." _Go figure._ "This is your last chance. If you punks want to leave, then get out of my sight. I can already tell there's a bunch of you that's pissin' in your pants right now."

Now _this_ surprised me. I never would have thought that Saitoh would actually given people a chance to run away. Usually he would savor in seeing students quiver in fear of him. I suppose swordfighting is something Saitoh takes pretty seriously if he doesn't want to waste time on people who need it.

Not surprisingly however, there were a few people who actually left. I shook my head. _If they didn't have the commitment to stand up to what they wanted to do, why were they here, wasting our time in the first place?_ If there's one thing that really gets me ticked off, its people who talk big but when it comes right down to the wire, they cower in fear and run away.

This left twenty or so people who wanted to make the team.

Saitoh smiled. "We'll have five brackets, each with four competitors. The winner of each bracket will make the team. The winner from each match will be determined by who scores three points first. And to determine what rank you'll hold on the team, you'll each face me one on one. But I'll save that fun for later. As for the reserves, I'll have the liberty of choosing them myself."

I nodded, along with the rest of the group. This was definitely different from last year. All Toma-sensei made us do was practice swings and drills and then one or two practice matches and then he'd pick who was on the team. I always did question that method of choosing. I guess that probably was part of the reason we didn't win any matches against other school.

_'Mou!__ That means I'm not a shoe-in. I was the captain of the team last year! What the hell?! Did Saitoh not believe in my abilities!? The nerve of him!'_

Saitoh posted something on the easel board behind him and I could only fathom that was probably told who was in which bracket. I found out that I was in the first bracket along with three other names I recognized from last year – they were all on the team. _'Well, at least I know it's not going to be extremely difficult making the team.'_ No offense of any of them, but I was the captain for a reason.

Aoshi was in the third bracket and I was able to make out Kenshin being in the fourth bracket when Saitoh told…rather commanded us…to get to our places and start the matches. _'Ah! I still haven't gotten a good look at Kenshin!'_ I was able to see him limping over to the far side of the gym for bracket four.

As I was walking over, I saw Aoshi trying to avoid me, purposely walking in a crowd of people rather than walking alone, as he usually would do. I would have confronted him right then and there as to why I wasn't informed about him trying out for the team, but if I knew Saitoh (and I believe I do pretty well), he would probably toss out anyone who didn't follow his orders.

My first match was with the third ranked fighter on our team from last year, a girl that went by the name of Sakura. All in all, she's a pretty nice person, always trying her hardest. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't gifted with the sense of coordination, meaning she wasn't the most balanced of people. However, I really don't know too much about her. I mean, we weren't the best of friends, or hated each other guts or something of the sort. I guess you could call her an acquaintance.

"How have you been doing, Kaoru?"

I blinked. From what I could fathom, she really never talked to me outside of the team. I mentally shrugged that off though. "Pretty good. And you?"

She smiled. This confused me. "Well, you know. I've had my ups and downs of course. But I'm pretty sure I'll be in a good mood soon."

"Why?" Really. Why in the world is she asking me these meaningless questions.

"Cuz…" And it didn't hit me…literally…till she landed a hard, direct blow on my right shoulder with her wooden sword. "I'm already up one point and on the verge of victory."

I fell to the ground with a thud and could hear groan around me from the onlookers. I clutched my shoulder. _'Owwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!'_ Of course, I would never say that out loud, but it hurt like hell. I slowly got up and grinded my teeth.

Pain – something I never could get accustomed too, but writhing from my shoulder. I rotated my arm but found that if I lifted my right arm above my head, it burned even more. Clenching my right hand in a fist, I took a couple of deep breaths before setting both hands onto my sword and got into formation.

_'What a lying, deceiving, bitch!'_ I smiled nonetheless. If there was another thing that ticked me off, it was dishonorable, cheating people like her. Although I don't know why she pulled of a stunt like that…I mean, I never remember her doing a trick like that last year, but I guess time changes people.

"What's wrong Kaoru? Can't stand the fact that someone is better than you?"

I sneered. "Oh yeah, soooo much better. We didn't even bow to each other. You started illegally."

I guess rules really didn't have an effect on her. And since there was five matches going on at once, Saitoh didn't see it. And if he did, I would of loved to seen the look on her face when Saitoh kicked her sniveling butt out of here.

"If you can't take the heat, might as well admit defeat Kaoru. And before you know it, I'll be captain of the team. Hehe."

I ignored her last comment. "Ready when you are, bitch."

This seemed to tick her off and she immediately charged at me with the sword pointing straight for my throat. _'Heh…too easy.'_ I effortlessly knocked the sword out of her hands and smacked my sword against her left thigh. She fell to the ground.

I sighed as she got back up and instead of getting back into position as you would usually do, she charged straight at me again, trying to catch me off guard. Using the same move as before, this time, I hit her right leg.

This time, she took her time getting up. I guess my blows were doing a number on her legs. And she was also breathing pretty hard. Needless to say, she also didn't seem to keep in shape.

I wanted to end this quickly, so this time I charged at her when she got into position. She didn't have a rat's ass of a chance as I struck her sword away for a third time and attacked her shoulder, just for revenge.

Smiling at victory and hoisted my sword over my shoulder. "Sorry Sakura. Seems like you had forgotten about my three imminent points I was going to make." And with that, I left the mat and a stunned Sakura and took a seat at a nearby chair, waiting for the next match in my bracket to begin. I would have loved to see what Aoshi was doing, but my questions were answered when I heard "ooohh's" and "aaahhh's" come from the third mat, where the third bracket matches were taken place. One could only guess what stunning display Aoshi put on for his onlookers. Plus, I needed to see who my next opponent was going to be: the senior, Kei or the junior, Taichi. Both were pretty decent, but I knew I could easily take on both. But with my shoulder as it is, I would rather face Taichi than Kei, Kei being the number two fighter on last year's team.

And as fate would have it, Kei easily won with three straight hits on Taichi. _'Go figure.'_

As I started to warm up for my next match, I overheard a couple of onlookers talk about a certain person who, as recently, was always in my mind.

"Did you see what the guy with the red hair did?"

"Yeah, the trick he did with the sword, one handed?"

"Uh huh! It was totally awesome! I thought only someone like Aoshi could pull that off."

"I don't know about that, but he's kinda cute, don't you think?"

"Definitely! Let's go watch his next match!"

"Kay!"

_'Kenshin, one-handed trick?__ Compared to Aoshi? ………cute?'_ Cute did him injustice. More like downright hot as hell!

"Kaoru…uh, your up, you know, right?" I heard a voice behind me bring my out of my reverie.

I turned around to see it was Taichi. "Huh? Oh, yeah, right. Thanks."

_'Mou!__ Now IS definitely not the time to be thinking about that Kaoru. And plus, Kenshin isn't THAT hot………'_

I shook my head to bring my back to where I currently was. With this win, I would be on the team. It was definitely all or nothing.

"May be best person win." I heard Kei say as she bowed.

I smiled. If there was someone on the team I could call a friend, it was definitely Kei. "Definitely." I bowed in return.

I usually would always let the opponent attack first, see the flaw in that particular step and find a way to counter it. So I decided to attack first, since I remember I told Kei that little quirk of mine. However, I was met dead on with Kei as both of our swords clashed against each other in a tight battle. If this was a battle of strength, I knew I wouldn't stand long, for Kei was definitely stronger than me. However, what I lacked in strength came in agility and speed.

Kei forced my sword away from me and I was wide open for an attack. However, I was able to dodge to the left from Kei's thrust, saw my chance and attempted a swing at Kei's hip. That's when my right shoulder froze in pain and I soon found myself thrown side ways from Kei's attack.

I inhaled sharply and clutched my left side. First my shoulder, and now my hip. Damn, I was out of shape.

"That makes me up one, Kaoru. I know you can do better than this."

I took a couple of deep breaths and got up again. Kei was right. I was better than this. Ignoring the pain coursing through my body, Kei and I clashed once again. And again, she easily overpowered me and was able to force away my sword, once again, leaving an opening in my body. This time though, I was ready. As Kei made an attempt at me with a thrust, I used my free left hand to push away the sword and attack her left arm with an attack of mine.

"You don't have to remind me, Kei" I said as I watched her rub her arm where I hit her. Swordfighting was definitely a contact sport, if you want to call it that.

Kei and I again went through the same routine as she took the next point and I took the one after.

Fatigue started to have its effect on my body. I need this next point, or else I would not make the team. I **couldn't** lose!

Kei was good, I had to admit that. But I was better, and I knew that instinctively. As both of us positioned ourselves for the final point, I found Kei charging towards me with her sword aimed at my chest.

Just as she was going to hit me, I stopped her sword with the hilt of mine, with my hand supporting the back of the hilt. It was an old trick that Aoshi had taught me. Despite Kei's power, the hilt of the sword was the densest area. If applied with enough pressure and pinpoint accuracy, you could stop an attack thrust pointed towards you. Luckily, I knew Kei would hold back her true strength, seeing that I was injured as I was. It was her nature to fight fairly or not fight at all.

I kicked away Kei's sword, rammed her to the ground, and then delivered the final blow to her as I lightly tapped my sword on her head.

I smiled as I pulled my sword away from her and tossed it aside to help Kei up. As I did, I saw her smiling as she gave me a brief hug, which I gladly returned. "Good job Kaoru. Next time, it's going to be me."

"Just next time, don't hold back."

The look on her face was a look of surprise. I guess she didn't expect me to know she was holding back. "Heh, you bet!"

It wasn't until then did I realize the impact of the hits I had taken. Everything started to have its impact all at once as my shoulder really started to ache. _'What the hell did she hit me with? I metal baseball bat or something? Why is it hurting so much?'_

I glanced over at the adjacent mat to see that matches there were done and so were the ones taking place at the third mat. You didn't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that Aoshi had won the third bracket, as everyone this side of the gym was talking about how easily he managed to defeat the two fighters he fought. However, apparently the match that still remained was the fifth bracket final match. Nodding to myself, I walked…rather limped awkwardly over there to find it surrounded with people.

Somehow, I managed to squeeze myself to the front to notice Kenshin standing at the far end of the mat. I recognized his opponent. Sanada Touckimichi. An arrogant fellow who, unfortunately had really good looks. _'But nowhere near Kenshin.'_

It seemed Kenshin was up two points to zero, I found out after asking nearby onlookers. I spotted Misao at the other side of the mat, half relieved, half scared and half pissed off…if you could have three halves to a person. Hehe.

Sanada, in all his arrogance, charged full speed towards a Kenshin………who looked, injured!??!? _'What in the world happened to him? Why does he have fresh scars all over his face?'_ So that's why everyone was whispering when he came in. He definitely was in no condition to fight. I found it surprising that he was even in the final match, up two points.

Seriously, I had accidentally blinked, and before I knew it, Sanada was on the ground, knocked out cold. _'Ok, maybe it's not so surprising for him to be there.'_ What in the world did he just do?

I guess Aoshi was right with the god-like swings he was talking about when he was referring to Kenshin's swordfighting skills. I honestly did not see that attack or counterattack or defensive maneuver…or whatever you want to call it.

With Sanada completely looking knocked out ice cold, Kenshin slowly walked off the mat and into the guy's locker room. Talk about a lone wolf warrior. Slowly, the crowd started to disperse back into the stands as they were talking about all the matches held and the winners.

I spotted Aoshi in the corner. Heh, I took the opportunity and walked over to him.

"Kaoru. I see you won."

"Aoshi, don't try to change the subject. I want to know why you're here when you never came before despite my constant begging. Huh? Huh?" I'm going to make sure I get to the bottom of this.

"You'll know in time Kaoru. For now, just be happy that your "team" actually has a chance of winning this year."

And with that, he walked away.

……………………..What the hell was that?! _'Actually have a chance of winning? My team? Know in time!?' _AHHH!!

"Hey Kaoru."

I turn around to find Misao look expectantly at me. I quickly regain control of myself and put on my usual cheerful self. "Hey Misao. How's it going?"

"Pretty good. And congrats on you making the team. You're pretty good."

"Heh, not as good as Aoshi…or Kenshin for that matter as well."

"Yeah, I saw Aoshi's first match. I never knew there was someone as good as Kenshin out there."

Now this got me intrigued. I'd really like to see a match between Kenshin and Aoshi, if what Misao says of Kenshin is true. If he's really that good. "Yeah, same goes for Kenshin as well."

"Yep yep. By the way, are you okay? I a bit of your first match and saw that huge hit to your shoulder. It looked kinda painful."

I smiled at her thoughtfulness. "Nah, its fine. I've felt worse."

My answer didn't seem to suffice her enough, but luckily, she left it alone. "Well, if you say so."

My curiosity was getting the better of me. "What happened to Kenshin? He seemed kinda tired and injured…with those bags under his eyes and scars on his face and arms."

I wasn't expecting Misao to cry before me, but her eyes were brimming with tears. "I'd like to know that myself." She wiped away a couple of lone tears before continuing. "He was out so late and then came back last night………and he had a high fever…and was limping……and was injured. I……just don't know……he wouldn't tell me……"

By the end, Misao was definitely on the verge of crying. I truly empathized with her. I knew exactly what she was feeling. The only thing I could do for solace was hug her, and I think that's all she needed because when I let go, she smiled.

"Thanks Kaoru."

"Anytime Misao."

"Umm……"

"Yeah Misao, whats up?"

"If you don't mind…can you not tell anyone about the conversation we had…with Kenshin."

"Of course. I'd want it the same way."

We both smiled as Saitoh blew his whistle, signaling the end of the matches and probably another one of his speeches.

"See you in a bit?" I asked Misao. For some reason, I felt a strong connection to her…like I we were similar in many ways. I wanted to get to know her a bit more.

"I dunno Kaoru. I still gotta yell at Kenshin for coming here in the first place cuz of his injuries and then probably treat his injuries. But we could hang out after school tomorrow?"

"Cool! Then I'll see you in school tomorrow."

"Yep." With that, Misao skipped along. She seemed to be in better spirits now. Saitoh blew the whistle a second time. If he reached a third time, everyone in the gym would probably receive detention, despite it being after school and everything.

After everyone had settled down, the five winners of the brackets lined up in front of Saitoh, with everyone else behind us in the bleachers.

Saitoh merely glared at us before smirking. "That was the easy part. Now the hard part comes with training. Our first match is in less than a month…twenty-five days to be precise from looking at your skills, I can tell you punks need training, and a lot of it too. The reserve position fighters will be posted up tomorrow before school hours in the front office. For those of you who didn't make it, I advise you to check there. Either than that, I want you five back here next week for your ranking matches with me. Dismissed!"

With that Saitoh left, leaving the five of us. As I looked who made it, I saw Aoshi, Kenshin, Ray, the number four ranked fighter from last year and a girl that I……well, didn't even know attended this school. I wonder who in the world she is. Well, with me, that made five.

**Author's Notes: **Hehehehehe…ok, so it's almost been a year and a half since I last said I would update…but I did!! That alone is cause for celebration. I know this chapter isn't up to the usual caliber but I hadn't written in so long and I guess, I have forgotten how to write……to an extent at least. So bear with me as I regain my rhythm again.

As for this chapter, you wouldn't think I would reveal what happened to Kenshin so soon? Heh, it'll be something big later on, but rest assured, I'll reveal what happened to him………eventually – given that I update.

I can't ask for much except for a review from you guys, telling me what you want and what I should improve on. I know there's a lot for me in that category .

I hope to update once more before my winter break is over and then again during Spring break, but who knows what'll happen. Time is a mystery.

Till I update again, I love you all! You guys keep me alive. Rest assured, this fic won't die.

vindemon64


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